


Orion

by eli_beeli, osterac1999



Series: Constellations [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Ace Jenna, All the "&" relationships? platonic, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fake dating is between Michael and Brooke, Fake dating!! Not the premise of this au just a product of it, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heyo it's Rachel here to say that Michael is lowkey trans, M/M, Michael gets cornered by jenna after the bathroom and gets her number, Pining Brooke, Pining Michael, Pinkberry, Queerplatonic Relationships, Waterlogged Headphones, also brooke+michael qpp, another rewrite fic!!!, boyf riends — Freeform, btw the brooke michael qpp is called Waterlogged Headphones, but - Freeform, but we swear everyone lives and is happy at the end, can you tell who tagged this?? its eli he goes all out, first few chapters are rachel and the next few are co-written or eli, has a vent session with them, it's like super implied you almost miss it, overall?? this fic is very gay, please enjoy, teen and up is bc swearing theres no smut or anything me and rachel are both ace af, they become close pals, this time w/ jenna+brooke+michael friendship, updates on wednesdays!, we have almost the whole thing done so do not fear late updates wont occur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-07 13:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11624412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eli_beeli/pseuds/eli_beeli, https://archiveofourown.org/users/osterac1999/pseuds/osterac1999
Summary: Jeremy help Michael put stars all over his ceiling a long time ago, arranging them in constellations over his head.But Jeremy just left Michael alone in a bathroom. Who the hell does he have now to stare up at shitty glow in the dark stars he put on his ceiling four years ago?He finds out when Jenna Rolan writes her number on his arm and he drives her and Brooke Lohst to his house after Jeremy fucked over Brooke and everyone left Jenna to be on her lonesome.





	1. Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> HEY SO this is Eli!!!! I'm putting together everything rn bc i got it started while Rachel was writing, but the first chapter is written by Rachel. I just went through and added like, one line somewhere and edited.
> 
> we're both really pumped to share this fic!!!!! we've put a lot of time and effort into (see: our long ass skype calls while writing together on google docs) this started bc we both adore qpp Michael and Brooke, and it expanded into this!!!! we hope you all like it!!!!!
> 
> EDIT: oh btw every chapter switches perspective!!!!! jenna got some of the longest chapters and we're proud of her

To say that today was a shit day would be the understatement of the century. All Michael had tried to do was warn his best friend (can they even be considered friends anymore?) about the dangers of that devil computer and he's called a loser. The panic attack on top of that didn't help either, nor the incessant knocking at the door. Can't a guy get _some_ sort of privacy?

"Look," a girl snapped from behind the door, "I know you said you were having your period, or whatever, but you've been in there for like ten minutes, and I'm honestly worried about you!" He could hear the concern in her tone and what was that she just whispered? _And I don't even know you._

Michael decided to do the smart thing and _not_ reply. Because Michael was the smartest, clearly. This, of course, backfired when she began to knock even louder. He stared at the door until she began yelling stuff along the lines of "I hope you didn't die in there" and "please just open the goddamn door". He decided that maybe- _maybe_ -opening the door would be a good idea, and he proceeded to do just that.

He was greeted to the sight of a very irritated girl, who ended up knocking against his chest until she realized the door was open. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the girl spoke up.

"Uh...hi, I'm Jenna." She seemed shy, despite the fact that she was just yelling from behind a closed door.

"And I'm leaving," Michael replied curtly, moving to leave the bathroom.

"Nope. You were in there for like ten minutes and you clearly aren't having your period-”

“Well, you don’t know about that,” he interrupted.

She paused for a few seconds before she continued. “-SO why were you locked in the bathroom?" Jenna looked closer at his face and gasped when she finally noticed the tear tracks. "What happened?"

He glared at the wall above her head as he tried to ignore her question. How does someone even begin to explain that they lost their friend to popularity and an overrated iPod nano?

What's the saying? The best lie is the truth told unconvincingly or something?

"Well, you see," he began, finally glancing at Jenna. "My best friend left me for popularity and a tic tac supercomputer." The blank look on her face gave nothing away, so he decided to push past her and go somewhere-like home-to cry in peace.

Before he could leave, her hand gripped his wrist tightly. "I can't tell if you're lying or not, and I don't know if I'd believe it as the truth, but..." Jenna looked into his eyes, completely sincere, "If you need someone to talk to, call me, okay?" She took advantage of his shock and wrote a phone number on his arm. "I'm one text or call away."

As he watched her leave, he covered the number, protecting it from the sweaty teens downstairs.

 

Despite his reluctance to trust anyone at this point, he ended up calling Jenna as soon as he got home. God, he _was_ a loser.

 _"Hello?"_ He could barely hear her over the din of drunk teenagers. _"One sec, let me go outside."_ He heard her move through the crowd, a couple of 'excuse me's being muttered. _"Alright! I'm outside, who are you and what's up?"_

Her genuinely perky tone stopped him for a moment. Could he really ruin a good mood like this? "Uh," _clever,_ "this is Michael? The guy you saw crying at the party you're at?"

 _"Oh, Michael! Hi, did you want to talk now? I swear I won't spill your secrets."_ She said this almost bitterly, like she had already been jaded somehow. _Something to bring up later,_ he thought then paused. Bring up later? What, like they were friends?

"Yeah, actually… could we meet somewhere tomorrow, or tonight? I don't want to-"

She interrupted him, _"Oh, there is_ nothing _happening at this party. And I know it's super late but I'm sure we can go_ somewhere." Her tone was almost hopeful. _"Uh, is there any way you can pick me up? I would drive but I'm kind of tipsy so-"_ She was cut off by the sound of the door opening and a sob. Michael could hear her still despite the fact that she shoved the phone aside. _"Oh my God, Brooke? Are you okay?"_

He could hear a mumbled reply, followed by another sob. Jenna gasped sharply. _"That_ dick! _Who the fuck even does that?!"_ Another garbled reply, and more angry ranting from Jenna. Before she could get in too deep, Michael decided to interrupt.

"While I would love to hear all about this dick, I don't think I should be listening to the conversation." He really didn't, since he had a feeling he knew who this 'dick' was.

 _"Oh, fuck, sorry! I totally forgot my phone was-"_ Michael heard a clatter, which he assumed was the phone being dropped. _"Goddammit! I just got this thing. Sorry, Michael."_ He listened to her ramble as Brooke mumbled in the background.

After this went on for several minutes, he was finally struck with a brilliant idea. "Hey, why don't I pick you both up? I'm not really friends with either of you- sorry, that was harsh- but… you both sound like you need it, especially Brooke."

Without waiting for their reply, he hopped into his car. "Stay right there and I'll be there in ten," he said before he hung up the phone. All he could hope for was that they listened.

Nine minutes later, he pulled up to the curb to see Jenna holding a tired-looking Brooke. He quickly unlocked the door, got out, and helped Jenna move her into his car. "Is she… gonna be okay?" he asked, eyes darting between the two girls.

Jenna appraised Brooke for a moment. "She'll be fine… Probably."

With that very definitive answer, Michael climbed back into the driver's seat, Jenna taking the passenger side. "So, any ideas or should we head to someone's house?"

"I don't know how well her parents are going to react to their daughter coming back from a party looking like that. And-" she glanced at the clock on the dash, then whistled. "And, it is way past my curfew."

Michael thought for a moment, before sighing. So much for his basement to him and-

No. He was _not_ going to think of him right now. He was going to focus on how distraught Brooke is, and just… suppress his feelings. _Smart._

When they arrived at his house, he glanced toward Brooke and jumped when he saw she was wide awake. Her eyes were still red, but her face was set in a neutral expression. Jenna seemed to notice his quietness and turned to see what he was looking at.

"Oh." She said simply. "Are you not tired anymore, Brooke?"

"I just..." Her voice was hoarse from all the sobbing. "I need to talk about it, you know?"

"I think we both get that." Jenna replied, glancing at Michael who nodded minutely. She seemed happy with that response and clapped her hands together. "Alright! Let's go in and share all of our deepest secrets."

Michael could've sworn he heard Brooke mumble, "So you can share them?" But he decided to write it off as anything else. Tonight was going to be a long night.

 

The first person to spill their secrets turned out to be Jenna. It seemed like she could sense their apprehensiveness, so she took the plunge and shared how she felt all the time. Throughout her little speech, Michael and Brooke donned strikingly different expressions.

Brooke, who was always an expressive person, had her face weighed down by sadness, her eyes glistening again. Her hand covered her mouth the entire time, hiding almost none of her expression.

Michael's face gave away nothing. He was expressionless throughout her speech, but he never stopped looking at her. Everything she said hit a little too close to home since Jeremy had abandoned him.

She started with a simple statement.

"I'm an extremely lonely person. I mean, you wouldn't think so since I know everything about everyone, _right_?" She laughed bitterly. "No one wants to get close to someone like that, though. Who knows what secrets of theirs I'll spill, right?" She stopped for a second, collecting herself before she continued. She looked like she was trying desperately not to cry.

"People won't even talk to me for five minutes because they're scared I'll find something out. Even _I'm_ not that good, funny enough." She desperately tried to keep the joking tone, but her voice kept breaking. "And-and it's funny because the only reason I have all that information is because I want friends? Isn't that-isn't that f-funny?" Her voice shook as she continued, until she couldn't. Her sentences faded into faint sobbing as she covered her face with her hands.

Michael was the first to move, used to comforting people who were crying. He touched her arm and asked, “Is it okay to hug you?" When she nodded, he hugged her tightly. He remembered faintly that someone said they felt safe when he hugged them. At the memory, he hugged her tighter, letting her sob into his sweater. He spoke softly, rambling into Jenna's ear to distract her.

All the while, Brooke stared at the two of them before she tentatively wrapped her arms around the two. After she got relatively comfortable, she started to stroke Jenna's hair and whispering comforting words. She seemed surprised by how warm Michael was. This surprise quickly went away as he re-wrapped an arm around her and she sunk into the hug.

After they sat there hugging for awhile, Jenna pulled herself away and wiped her face with the heels of her hands. "Okay," she breathed, voice hoarse. "Who's next?"

"How can you recover so quickly from pouring your soul out?" Michael asked, searching for a bit of humor. Humor had always been an escape, why abandon it now?

She laughed softly. "Beginner's luck, I suppose." She turned to Brooke, tilting her head. "Are you ready to talk, Brooke?"

"I..." She trailed off and stared at a space above Michael's head for a moment. "Yes. I need to talk."

She explained how she found Chloe and Jeremy presumably having sex, seeing him rush out of the room and not even try to _explain_. "Well, no explanation needed, I guess." She remarked with a bitter laugh. She glanced at Michael's darkened face before she continued.

"I just can't believe Chloe would do that to me!" She practically yelled, no more tears to spare. "I'm her _best friend-_ " She didn't catch the slight wince Michael gave. "-how could she just- just sleep with my boyfriend?! Who the fuck actually does that?"

Trying not to set Brooke off at him, Michael simply said, "Chloe doesn't seem to be the warmest person at the best of times."

Brooke's head snapped to look him directly in the eye. "You're absolutely right, but..." She trailed off, losing herself in thought once again. After about a minute, she collected herself. "But she's my friend, and… I just don't want to be mad at her, you know?"

Michael slowly nodded, completely understanding her current predicament.

When she started off on another bitter rant, Michael clambered behind her and started to braid her hair. He was absolutely mesmerized by the pale strands as he let her words sink in. She went almost uninterrupted except for the occasional comment from Jenna and him. He felt oddly protective of her. Maybe it was the fact that their stories shared a few too many similarities for his liking.

"And, you know, as far as I could tell she didn't even _like_ Jeremy like that at all, and yet she decides to fuck him in Jake's parents' room? And what gets me is that I _trusted_ her and she took that and crushed it. I _wish_ I could fucking hate her, but I love her so _much_." This confession was the straw that broke the camel's back. Suddenly, Brooke's anger turned into sorrow and she openly sobbed again.

In an instant, Michael let her hair drop and wrapped her in a tight hug- one she relaxed into instantly. A second after, Jenna practically crawled into Brooke's lap, hugging her around the middle.

After they sat like that for ten minutes, Brooke quietly admitted, "I've never had this many hugs in succession like this. It's so… nice."

Jenna pulled back and looked her in the face. "Didn't you and Chloe ever hug it out?"

"Uh." Brooke looked away from Jenna's searching eyes. "No. She… never liked me like that or was even inclined to hug someone she wasn't dating."

Michael snorted. "That's stupid. If you ever need a cuddle buddy, I'm your guy."

Brooke smiled for the first time in hours. "I'd love to be your cuddle buddy, Michael!"

Jenna watched them smiling before she clapped her hands together, an idea coming to her. "Have you guys ever heard of a queerplatonic relationship?" she asked, leaning toward the two (who were still huddled together). To their identical confused looks, she laughed. "Okay, short version? It's very similar to a romantic relationship except no romance-love involved. Just platonic! I think you'd both benefit from it! And since you're both interested in other people, you can just do cute platonic stuff!"

They both spluttered at the crush implication, and Jenna laughed again. Michael lowered his head to rest on Brooke's back as she began to pet his hair. After they sat in a comfortable silence for a little bit, Jenna's expression turned serious and she turned to Michael. "Are you ready to talk about it, Michael? We can wait longer if you need." At Jenna's words, Michael tensed up and Brooke released herself from his grasp to hug him and nod fervently.

"I..." He felt sick to his stomach. He didn't expect to be able to tell anyone, but now? He has two people to pour his heart out to. "Yeah. I-I just-" His eyes swept the room for any sort of distraction. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Jenna behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Okay. You wanna know why I was crying in a bathroom by myself? Here goes."

He took a moment to collect himself, and slow down his erratic heart. He motioned for them to back away from him, knowing how he gets when angry. "My best friend of twelve years had just abandoned me in the pursuit of popularity at the drop of a hat- well, the swallowing of a microscopic super-computer, but same difference. He'd been ignoring me for a week since he took it and the one chance I get to actually speak to him and he sees me? He freezes and then turns around, ignoring me completely _again_. I apparently don't fucking exist anymore. And after that, I spent weeks scouring the internet for something about these devil machines, and I _finally_ find some damning evidence against them thanks to a friend on WoW. My first thought is, 'oh I can finally help Jer and he'll believe me because he's my best. Friend.' So at the party, I finally confront him, tell him what I found and guess what?" He paused for effect, actually looking to them for an answer.

When he got no response except sad eyes, he launched back into his tirade. "He thinks I'm _jealous_! _Jealous_ of his popularity, _jealous_ that he has friends. I'm in absolute shock because why would I be _jealous_ of something that deliberately cut me out, his BEST FRIEND." He was gasping for breath now and vehemently shook his head when Brooke and Jenna went to hug him again. "I wish he would realize that the only reason I even did that is because _I love him_. So what does he do? He pushes me out of the way, calls me a fucking LOSER, completely ignoring my feelings and I _know_ he can tell I'm about to have a panic attack. He's never called me anything with any real malice and now he does that and just leaves me. The b-boy I love just left me for good, oh-oh my God, I-" He was cut off by a ragged sob that finally left him. Ignoring his rapid head shakes, Brooke wrapped him in a tight hug. As her head was rested on his shoulder, she rubbed gentle circles into his back and hummed a random tune. Jenna began playing with his hair with her left hand, as her right held his own hand, which she squeezed tightly.

He felt safe for the first time that entire night.


	2. It's Halloween and Cuddles are the Answer to Sadness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bonding continues, ft. jenna perspective!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rachel: SYKE Y'ALL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE WEDNESDAY BUT GUESS WHO'S GOT NO IMPULSE CONTROL also it'll be posting every 3 days not 7 :D
> 
> anyways!!! this is eli!!! we just couldnt wait lol so updated update schedule!!!! enjoy!!!

As Brooke and Michael held each other tightly, Jenna finally scoped out his basement. While they had chosen to huddle on the carpet, she noticed that there were two very distinct bean bag chairs directly in front of the TV. She elected to ignore the hastily scrawled 'Player 2' on the side of the closest one and glanced over the one with 'Player 1' written over it. It was the most worn bean bag chair she had ever seen and it warmed her heart.

After an inappropriately long time staring at it, she finally glanced to the TV and the stacks of games surrounding it. From the position she was currently stuck in, she couldn't read all of the titles, but she could see a very distinctive Mario Kart case. Was it too early to ruin this friendship?

Before ruining the peaceful silence, she took a second to take in his appearance. He had bags under his eyes, bruises that nearly blended into his skin in the dark half-light of the basement. Despite the quasi-dark, she could still see that his eyes were red and that he had tear tracks running down his cheeks. His hair was mussed in the back where she had been playing with it and it was undoubtedly adorable.

She also noticed the almost imperceptible smudges on his glasses, which she secretly thought would make it impossible to see. Even when his eyes were partially hidden behind his glasses, she could see how exhausted he was. She didn't think it was physical exhaustion, though.

"Hey, Michael?" she asked, and received a noncommittal grunt in response. She decided to continue anyways. "You like video games, right?"

"What gave it away? The stacks of games or the 'Player 1' on my chair?" he asked flatly, voice hoarse.

"I'd say it was the N64 tucked in the corner of the cabinet," Brooke piped up. Her hair stuck up in multiple directions and she had creases from his shirt pressed into her cheeks. She looked extremely content perched in Michael’s lap.

They all broke into laughter. "We're all messes, you know that, right?" Michael asked from his position under Brooke.

Jenna shrugged. "How about we be messes who play Mario Kart?"

Michael eyes literally glittered. He looked like a star adrift a murky sky to her. Lighting his own way, guiding others- namely them. "You speak my language, Jenna."

He and Brooke finally broke apart as the moved toward the TV. Michael froze for a second before he grabbed the closest bean bag chair. "I have more in the closet, let me grab some." Neither of them questioned why he decided to grab two new ones.

As Michael went to retrieve the new chairs, she appraised Brooke. She looked a lot better than she had earlier that night. Happier. More content. Jenna had noticed that she had been spinning her ring less and less throughout their time together and it made her heart warm. Maybe she was onto something when she suggested the queerplatonic relationship. She wasn't dumb, though. None of them were going to heal from this quickly or fully, but having friends helped a lot.

When he returned, they began a very intense game of Mario Kart. Instead of going to the N64, he opted for the Wii U and Mario Kart 8. When asked why he simply responded with "all of the maps", before they continued into the selection screen. Michael went for Waluigi immediately, which Jenna just assumed was because he liked to be a meme, and Brooke went for Rose Gold Peach and she was halfway convinced it was an aesthetic choice. Jenna herself went for Toad, since no one wanted to be his friend, like her! Was that really true anymore, though?

She looked at Michael and Brooke grinning out of the corner of her eye. And she decided that no, it's not.

As it turns out, exclusively gaming for at least twelve hours a day makes you _extremely_ good at any game. Michael easily destroyed the two girls, but they couldn't find it in themselves to even be mock mad. Michael just seemed so happy and in this element. It was basically a race for second place for Brooke and Jenna, but it was so exhilarating and _fun_.

Eventually, Jenna glanced at her phone and balked. How was it already three AM?! She bodily moved in front of the TV much to the dismay of the others. Only after Michael paused the game did she share the news.

"Guys, it's three AM and we need to sleep." She made a cutting motion when they groaned. "No! We're all sleeping now and then we're gonna, like, get some ice cream tomorrow or something."

Brooke got up at that and brushed herself off, offering a hand to Michael. When she pulled him up, she finally seemed to realize how tall he was. When he caught her stare, he blushed deeply. "There's really no need to stare at me like that."

"Honeybun," she started before she was stopped by Michael's snort, "You are literally the tallest person I've ever met, just let me be amazed for a sec." She smiled at his blush before she hugged him again.

Jenna watched the exchange with a not-so-secretly hidden camera. _Future blackmail,_ she thought. (It was really for a digital scrapbook she had just decided to make.)

"While this is cute and all, where are we sleeping, Michael?" Jenna gestured to the bean bags, "we can sleep here if you like."

"Uh, no, I was thinking we could all just...sleep in my bed? Unless you guys aren't comfortable with that, then just ig-"

He was cut off quickly when Brooke took his hand. "Honey, we'd love to cuddle in your bed with you. All you've got to do is ask. I think-" She glanced between the three of them, "I think we all trust each other at this point."

He smiled softly, squeezing her hand. "Thanks you guys. And, uh, Brooke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want something else to wear? That can't be comfortable." She looked to see him gesturing toward her costume.

"Oh!" Averting her eyes, she blushed. "I was so comfortable here that I hadn't even noticed." She let out a nervous laugh, and Jenna hugged her close. "But I'd really like, well, anything else."

"Have I got just the thing for you!" Michael led them into his room and toward his closet. Upon opening it Jenna noticed there were specifically five different hoodies hung up. "Pick one and just chill in it for the night. Except the red one. I, uh, I'm not comfortable with anyone else wearing that except-" He paused. "Actually, Brookie, wear my red one."

Jenna watched as Brooke smiled widely, both at the use of a nickname and the signature hoodie. She could _see_ how touched she was. Brooke took the hoodie off the hanger and hugged it close to her chest before kissing Michael on the cheek. She whispered something to him that Jenna assumed was a 'thank you'. When she exited to change, she turned to Michael.

"'Brookie'?" He turned red and spluttered. Before he could splutter himself out of existence, Jenna continued. "No judgement, I just think it's _really_ cute. You just don't seem to be a nickname type of guy."

"I'm not, usually? I just think since she used one that I should use one, and I really only ever use nicknames when I'm comfortable." She smiled softly at his admission. _I'm so glad he's comfortable because I am, too. And I think I can speak for Brooke here, too._

She was knocked out of her thoughts from a very loud snort from Michael. She whipped around to see what set him off and froze. She noticed Brooke standing in the doorway, absolutely _drowning_ in Michael's hoodie. The fact that she was dressed up as a dog earlier didn't denote the fact that she looked like a drowned puppy. A happy drowned puppy, though.

"Holy shit, _holy shit_." Michael wheezed as he went over to hug Brooke. He held onto her tightly as he shook with laughter. "You are drowning in that, holy shit."

She pouted and brought up the sweater sleeve to swat at Michael. "What did you expect?" She asked exasperatedly, bringing a sleeve covered hand up to her forehead. Her body language oozed over-dramatic. "What ever will I do? _Betrayed_ by my two closest friends!" It was really a testament to the success of the night when no one flinched at the words.

"Alright, drama queen, let's go to bed before you pass out." Jenna pushed all of them toward the bed and watched as they snuggled up. "Leave some room for me, you heathens." She rushed to turn off the light before she invaded their current cuddle pile.

Once they were all comfortable, and once they had wished each other all a good night, they laid in a comfortable silence. Jenna stared up at the ceiling, noting how it dipped in random places. The stars. She also saw-in a far off corner-a tiny scribbled message, which she had a sinking feeling was from Jeremy. She looked to see if Brooke and Michael were awake and upon seeing their peaceful faces, she got up from her spot. She stood up from the bed, trying to avoid any squeaking and made her way over to the corner. She noticed that the message was surrounded by stars, and that from the wall they spread out to form a constellation, Orion. She smiled softly at that.

Jenna finally pulled out her phone flashlight to inspect the message. It read, _Mikey, you’re my favorite constellation._ With a tiny, terribly drawn star next to it. 

Tiny tears prickled in her eyes and she resolutely turned away from the corner to climb back into the bed. As she tried to fall asleep, a thought came to her. She glanced at Michael and Brooke out of the corner of her eye.

_I don't want to lose something like this._

She didn't remember falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up, brooke pov and smartphone hour! ;)


	3. Smartphone Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> brooke might be confused but she'll work through that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY BABY GIRL ITS HER CHAPTER REHFBJDS anyways enjoy yall next update is in 3 days

When Brooke woke up, she felt like a (stereotypical) character from a novel, because she had no clue where she was. All that she really knew was that she felt very comfortable, snuggled into this really firm pill-oh, that was a person. Huh. Well, she did go to a party last night where her date proceeded to sleep with her best friend.

Right. That had happened. But did she also sleep with someone?

No, she wouldn't do that. Not when she was that emotionally distressed. (Right? Yeah… yeah.)

She slowly extracted herself from the person's arms that were currently wrapped around her and finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw when she looked down was a boy's face. _Oh,_ she thought, _Michael! I totally forgot about our cathartic talks last night!_

The best course of action, she decided, was to snuggle right back into the cuddle pile. Sadly, her movement caused Michael to wake up. He squinted his eyes at her and she panicked. Why? Because what if he was mad about being woken up or just angry that he woke up with someone he honestly rarely knows? _Well,_ she reasoned, _he trusted me enough to give me his favorite hoodie so that has to mean something, right?_ Or was she over thinking that, like she did everything?

"Hey, Brookie?" He interrupted her erratic train of thought. He leaned in really close to compensate his lack of vision and put a hand to her cheek. "Are you okay? You kind of zoned out there, and not the sleepy kind. I'm an expert on that, and that wasn't it." He moved to check her temperature, but her small smile stopped him.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I just get lost in my head sometimes, sweetie." She absolutely adored the blush he got every time she used a nickname. She should try to push how many she can get in a sentence sometime.

"I-I don't- what?" She almost squealed when she saw how flustered he was. It was amazing! But what if he didn't like that? She studied his face closely, taking in his slight frown and reddened cheeks. Frown? Of course he didn't like that, Michael seemed to be a pretty private person. Which obviously meant that this much physical contact and nick-

"You know, you can call me whatever you want. The only reason I'm blushing is because I'm not used to it- _yet_. Once I am, nothing you say will phase me. Promise." The little smile that adorned his face soothed her.

"Oh, good! I was just worried since I've never gotten to be this intimate with someone. I have, like, a whole reservoir of nicknames I've never been able to use before!"

He glanced blearily around the room until his eyes fell on Jenna. “Should we wake her up?” He asked.

She glanced down toward Jenna, who was sleeping rather peacefully. “Nah. She looks pretty happy right there, let’s just let her… rest awhile.”

They decided to continue chatting in the kitchen, and carefully extracted themselves from Jenna. Brooke stole one last glance at her, silently thanking her for taking her away from the party.

Her and Michael decided to get to know each other more, deciding no question was too big or too small. They started with easy questions, like favorite colors and animals, until they asked the harder ones. Those being things like sexuality, parents, and past relationships.

For Michael, he took longer and had more than a few thoughtful pauses. She found out that he likes red (obvious now), snakes and other reptiles, and that he's visited both the Philippines and Ecuador for family. As for the harder, she learned that he's gay, his parents aren't always around and he can't really complain, though, since they give him so much and he shouldn't be sad, right? At that, Brooke gave him a tight hug. She also learned that he hadn't been in any relationships, and he honestly thought he was aromantic until he realized that that was only because he'd been in love with Jeremy for years, leading him to never want another relationship.

As for Brooke, she answered as truthfully and quickly as possible, so she wouldn't let her mind run away with them. She said that she really loved gold (hence her Rose Gold Peach choice), cats, and that she's visited family in Washington before. For harder, she said she was pan (“Michael, honeybun, do _not_ make that joke, I swear to _God_ -”), her family was always really supportive of everything in her life except Chloe, and could she really blame them? At her huff, Michael swiped her hair out of her face. She explained how this is the second time that someone's cheated on her, and she gave no further detail then, not wanting to cry again.

As they fell into comfortable chatter, they heard Jenna come crashing up the stairs, obviously excited.

"I just got the biggest dirt of the year, and get this-it happened at the party last night!" She yelled as she waved her phone in their faces. All Brooke could catch a glimpse of was the name 'Dustin Kropp'. She scoffed. Jenna turned to her, the smile on her face fading a little. 

"What?"

Brooke froze. She hadn't expected to be caught in her contempt. "It's nothing, it's just...he was the boyfriend that cheated on me." She paused. "Everyone knows. I just don't see why you'd trust him at all, honestly."

"I..." She hesitated. Brooke could see the emotions running across her face and thought, _did I take it too far? I can never tell if I say anything wrong, I hope she isn't mad._ Jenna seemed to collect her thoughts. "Right. I...don't, really. He's an ass who betrayed your trust, and I'm sorry he did that. But..." She bit her lip. "Ugh. Never mind. I can't figure out how to say what I want to say, you know?"

Brooke squinted. "Let's just forget it for now, okay?" She noticed the concerned look on Michael's face. "I'm fine, sweetie, I swear! Seeing his name just brought up a lot of bad memories, so..."

"Right. Yes. Okay." He obviously didn't believe her. He quickly shifted his focus back onto Jenna and smiled. He set his elbows on the counter and rested his chin in his hands. "So, what did you hear about that was so excitable?"

"What I..? Oh, yeah! So you know Rich?" At the unimpressed look on his face, she continued. "Of course you do. Ha. Well, he set a fire in Jake's house sometime after we left and he's in the hospital or something. What I don't get is why. Jake was a best friend to him and-according to Dustin-he hadn't touched any alcohol."

"Is he really that reliable of a source?" Brooke asked. She felt equally as unimpressed as Michael looked.

Jenna hesitated. "I-uh...no, I guess not. But-" She shook her phone again. "I don't have any other source here, and I've got to spread this."

The other two exchanged a look. They wouldn't stop her, but they would at least warn her of this unreliable source. "You can do whatever you want, Jenna. We won't stop you. You like gossip and, honestly- who doesn't? Just..." Michael hesitated for a few seconds. "...take everything he says with a grain of salt."

"Psh. Okay, mom, I will." She began to type rapidly on her phone to someone. "Hey," she said, turning to Brooke with a serious expression on her face. "This is pretty big gossip. I'm gonna share it with resting bitch face, if that's alright with you."

Brooke blinked. "Who-? Oh. Oh! No, that's totally fine. Chloe's good at spreading things."

The second her words registered, Michael cackled. Brooke was confused, and when he saw her face he started laughing harder. When he noticed that Jenna was calling Chloe, he tried to stifle it behind his hand.

From their side of the conversation, they heard her excited babbling as she texted Chloe. When she finally answered, Jenna began moving around the kitchen, her excited explaining caused Michael to start laughing again.

"I'll tell you 'cause you are my closest friend!" Jenna practically shouted, coming to a stop in front of the two sitting at the bar counter.

 _"No, I'm not."_ They heard a tinny Chloe say. Brooke felt oddly satisfied at the admission. She filed that away to think about later.

Jenna quickly turned to the two and with a _wink_ said, "Yeah, I know. Brooke is."

Her exclamation renewed Michael's cackling and Brooke knew it could be heard by Chloe. She could hear her pausing, about to ask where Jenna was. Before that, though, Jenna interrupted with her explanation of the night's events. By the time the call ended, Michael was curled up on the chair- _crying_.

"H-Holy f-fuck, Jenna. I can _not_ believe you right now." He looked at Brooke's again confused face. What was the joke here? "And Brookie doesn't even get it? Oh my _God_." He was on his way to laughing himself to tears again before they were all interrupted by Brooke's frantically buzzing phone.

She went over to the phone and noticed a few texts from Chloe.

_Prettiest Girl <3: omg brooke answer me!_

_Prettiest Girl <3: look, wait until I tell you what I saw._

The last text was punctuated with an actual call from her. She stared at the screen before she pressed the end button. "Ignore." She looked up to a thumbs up from both Michael and Jenna, a quiet cheer echoing after that.

_Prettiest Girl <3: and also :(_

_Prettiest Girl <3: i'msorrythatjeremymadeoutwithmeatthepartybutitwastotallyhisfaultandlet'snotletboyscomebetweenuseveragain_

_Prettiest Girl <3: mmkay? :) :* :3c_

This bunch of texts call was also punctuated with a phone call, but this time Brooke actually picked up. "Hey," she answered, quietly.

 _"We cool?"_ Chloe asked, and she could hear hope across the phone line.

Brooke sighed, and glanced to Michael and Jenna-they're faces the picture of supportive. "We aren't. You can keep your second hand gossip to yourself, _mmkay_? I've got it from the source, so you can shove it." She heard the quiet noise of protest Chloe made and scoffed. "Shut it. I was _crying_ , Chlo, and you didn't even care. I don't want to hear it." She promptly hung up, pretending she didn't hear the quick inhale from her. Pretending she didn’t care that she didn’t hear that sharp inhalation. 

After a few seconds, she felt Michael's arms around her, squeezing her tight. "I am so proud of you, Brookie. I'm not sure I'd be able to say something like that to Jeremy." She laughed a little before she sunk into the hug and wrapped her arms around him.

They continued on with their day by just gossiping with Jenna, which seemed to make her incredibly happy. They decided to ask her all the questions they asked each other earlier, but that was mainly for getting to know Jenna and for her to know them (since they had been talking all morning). They found out that she likes blue, she also liked cats ("Ooh! I love cats, too! You both should meet Heather sometime!"), and the furthest she'd been out of state is New York to see a Broadway show. They also learned that she was acearo, and that she's been through quite a few foster homes (though now she’s found a permanent home and she couldn’t be happier). The relationships thing, they figured, was pretty self explanatory.

Eventually, all good things must come to end. The good thing that came to an end was their bonding session, but they all agreed to eat lunch together and decidedly ignore the people who were their 'friends'.

Brooke looked over to Michael and saw him smiling, and she couldn't help but think that this was the first time he had smiled in weeks. He really did have a cute smile-it was lopsided and he only had one dimple, but it looked perfect to Brooke.

She decided to make it her mission to get him to smile everyday.

Even if would kill her.

(Okay, maybe not _kill_ her, but she'd try her damnedest.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter,,,,, is prespective of a new character. yall have a 1/5 chance of getting it right and we hope u enjoy sass master next chapter
> 
> sass master is michael btw so look forward to that bc our boy throws some hella shade


	4. Rich Set a Fire Last Week and We're Feeling Sorry for Him (Michael a Bit Less, Though No One Blames Him.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jenna's feeling bad for the recently friendless richard goranski and pulls broke and michael into it too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall eli thought this was the sass master chapter but he forgot about the longest chapter ft, jenna rolan   
> Rachel half remembered.
> 
> anyways sass masters and shade throwing next chapter get ready for that lol

Jenna tapped her nails against the counter and stared blankly at the wall in front of her. There really wasn’t anything going on today to distract her from her thoughts. She could always call Michael (and subsequently Brooke), but that was… counterproductive if she wanted to avoid telling him what she’d found out. She was broken out of her blank staring by a skittering off to her right.

“Sharpay Evans if you got out of your cage again, I swear to _God_ -” She jumped up from the stool to see a pale yellow rabbit slinking around near the cabinet. “Do I have to, like, put weights on the lock or _something_? How do you even do it? Why can’t you be like Chyan, who _stays_ in his _cage_?” Sharpay seemed to snuff at the finger she pointed at her. “Okay. Fine. Slink around the kitchen and get yelled at by mom, see if I care.”

With one last glance to her rabbit, she turned back and sat at her stool again. After placing her chin in her hand, she resumed her thoughts. On one hand, adding another person to their friend group would be really beneficial. On the other hand, Michael might hold a grudge- considering who it is. She decided to bite the bullet and just call him. What’s the worst that could happen? 

She mentally slapped herself. _No jinxing._

Before she could change her mind, she clicked Michael’s contact and waited for him-and Brooke, presumably-to pick up. She watched Sharpay out of the corner of her eye until she heard Michael softly ask, _”Hello?”_

“Hey, Michael! Is Brooke there, too?” She asked, wondering if he’d just woken up. Glancing at the clock on the stove she decided that, yes, he’d just woken up. 

_”Yeah, uh, lemma just-”_ Michael let out a few muttered curses before he finally managed to find the right button. _”Brookie can hear you loud and clear now, Jenna.”_

 **”Hey, Jenna! What’s up?”** At least _she_ sounded more alive than Michael did.

“Oh, ya know. Watching Sharpay ruin my kitchen, wondering if you guys wanted to go to the hospital with me.” She winced at how lame she sounded, but it was like ripping off a bandaid. It hurts less if you do it quickly. Or something.

**”Jenna, are you okay? Did you need someone to drive you to the hospital?”** She tried to interrupt, but she was drowned out by scrambling on their end. **”Michael’s grabbing his keys, we’ll be there in-”**

“BROOKE!” She yelled. “I’m fine! Really! I meant going to see someone else, I’m sorry. I should’ve explained better.”

 _”Way to give us a heart attack, dude.”_ Michael deadpanned. She could hear the weariness through the phone. Was he okay? That didn’t sound like tiredness of the sleep-deprived kind. _”I’m kind of afraid to ask now, but_ who _are we going to see?”_

“Oh-uh. Well, you see…”

 _”I am not liking the sound of that.”_ He muttered to Brooke, who gave a comforting noise in return.

“Don’t get sassy with me, Mell. I just-I just know you don’t like them, so I’m hesitant to say?” She tried.

 **”Honey, it’d be better if you just said it. Like ripping off a bandaid!”** Jenna laughed, which she knew surprised the two of them.

“Alright, yeah. Okay. So.” She still couldn’t get the words out. Bandaid, right? “IwaswonderingifyoutwowantedtogoseeRichwithmesincehe’sallalonethereandit’dbegoodforhimtoseepeopleheknows!” Her words came out a jumbled mess, but she hoped they got the main point of it.

 _”Wait. You want us to go see_ Rich _?”_ Jenna had expected him to yell, but his voice came out rather quietly.

“Yes?” She tapped her nails on the counter again, the soft _click_ gave her comfort.

 _”The guy who bullied me and Jer relentlessly for two years? That guy?”_ He asked. Jenna couldn’t see where the end of this thread went, but she had a bad feeling about it.

“I-yes?”

She heard a clutter from the other end and a sentence from Brooke, which-to her-sounded like ‘Michael, wait!’ but she couldn’t be one-hundred percent positive. From what she could hear though, she assumed Michael left the room.

 **”Michael left the room.”** Brooke needlessly explained. **”He didn’t seem very for the idea when you mentioned it. Sorry, honey.”** _Yeah, I figured._

“It’s fine, Brooke, honestly. I was already half sure he’d react like that before I even called. It’s just-” How could she articulate this? “I kind of understand where Rich is coming from? Not-not the _bullying_ thing, I meant him wanting to see other people. He’s lonely, right? So who better than what used to be the three loneliest people in Middleborough to cheer him up? Or even become friends with him?”

Brooke took a few minutes to respond, which made Jenna grow more anxious. She honestly thought Brooke had hung up before she heaved a huge sigh.

**”Jenna, look-”** She cringed at the reproachful tone of Brooke’s voice. **”Michael...he isn’t in the best place mentally right now, I think we can both agree on that. And seeing someone who was relentlessly terrible to him for two years probably isn’t the best thing. But-”** It was almost like she could feel Jenna’s disappointment. **”I think he’ll probably still agree to go. I just think that he’s scared-worried? Whatever you want to call it-that he’ll just forgive Rich easily. That’s like the one thing he really hates about himself. How easily he can forgive someone. I feel like he wants to be angry for a while before he’s ready to forgive but-”** She paused. Jenna could hear the door opening in the background. She could hear the sad smile that adorned on Brooke’s face. **”That just won’t happen.”**

“I-thanks, Brooke. For telling me.” She carefully reconsidered Michael’s words on Halloween and decided that, no, Michael wouldn’t keep his anger for long. “Is Michael back in?”

Instead of Brooke, he replied. _”Yeah. I just needed a second to think, is all.”_ He sighed and Jenna could imagine him moving his glasses and rubbing his eyes. _”I don’t really want to see him right now, I guess? But I also kinda do? It’s weird, sorry, I’ll just…”_ He trailed off.

“Michael, don’t you dare cut yourself off-” Jenna said at the same time that Brooke said, **”Sweetie, just say what you were going to-”** They both stopped once they realized that their voices overlapped. The resulting silence was anything but pleasant.

After half a minute, Jenna sighed. “Michael just complete your thought, okay? What you were saying _wasn’t_ weird. Mixed feelings about certain things make you human.”

_”I know, I just… fine. Let’s go see him.”_

Jenna was taken aback. It was that easy? All of her worrying- for nothing? 

**”Are you sure?”** Brooke asked. The frown she most certainly had was very evident in her voice. She could picture Brooke placing a hand on his shoulder, and him brushing it off.

_”Yeah. Let’s go see Rich.”_

The drive to the hospital was tense, to put it simply. Michael’s hands were wrapped around the steering wheel, which would normally have given Jenna relief if not for how white his knuckles had become. Despite his love for music, he hadn’t bothered to put anything on and that scared Jenna. When had Michael gone without music before? She couldn’t remember a single moment where he had been without headphones or music floating out of them from their place around his neck. Eventually, Brooke took the initiative to grab his right hand and take it off the wheel, rubbing gentle circles into it. From where she sat, she could see his face _slightly_ relax.

“You don’t have to do this.” Jenna eventually said, though it was a little too late-seeing as they were pulling into the parking lot. “I mean-we could just turn around and I can go by myself. It’s fine.”

“No, Jenna, it’s not.” He turned off the car and started to clean his glasses. “I need to confront him about this whole SQUIP business.” Brooke placed a hand on his shoulder and he leaned into it slightly, taking a deep breath. “He kind of started all this, and I want-no, need-to know why.”

Jenna got out of the car and gestured for them to go into the hospital. “Well,” she said, and nudged his other shoulder. “Might as well get those answers now, huh?”

Instead of replying, the other two began to walk toward the hospital, but not before Michael grabbed the hand on his shoulder.

When they walked in, Jenna could see Michael immediately crawl back into his shell. _Right. He gets really anxious about social situations._ She squeezed his hand once before she waltzed up to the person at the front desk. 

“Hi! My friends and I are here to see Rich Goranski. Do you know what room he’s in?” She asked, not faltering a single moment. All of the information she had gathered already gave her this much, but she decided to be polite.

The eyes of the man at the desk bore into her and she almost flinched. “Seeing as I’m the one sitting here at the desk,” he drawled, not taking his eyes away from hers, “Yes. I do. As far as I know, though, no one _wants_ to visit the kid.”

Brooke let go of Michael’s hand and stepped up to the counter. Jenna caught a glimpse of the momentary panic on his face. “And why’s that?” Brooke asked innocently before Jenna could cut her off. 

She only got out a hissed, “ _Brooke_!” before the man laughed.

“He committed _arson_ , who wants to see him? Really, tell me. Are you his _friends_?”

She was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected someone to just say it outright. And, well, no. They weren’t friends. Apparently, Rich didn’t have any friends after the fire. The thought broke her heart.

Brooke didn’t seem to catch the sarcasm in his tone, and she quickly replied. “Of course! Why would we come see him if he wasn’t our friend?”

“I-uh-” He spluttered. _Didn’t see that one coming, huh, desk jockey?_ Jenna thought savagely with a smirk on her face. “Fine. Room 306. Have a nice day.” He quickly turned to his computer and promptly ignored them.

Once they were on their way to the elevator, Michael let out a sigh of relief. “I am so glad that’s over. What an ass.”

Brooke took his hand in hers once again. “Yeah. What gives him the right to say that about Rich anyway?”

“He just thinks he’s better than us because he’s an _adult_ and we’re _teenagers_.” At the end of his sentence, he threw up his free hand in a flourish. The sudden mocking tone made the other two laugh.

They continued with their casual banter until they hit the third floor. Once the door opened again, Michael fell silent. Before either could comment, he gave them a reassuring smile. Taking that as a go-ahead, Jenna pushed out of the elevator and headed toward 306. She reached the door to find it open, and she glanced inside to see someone in a full-body cast, watching what appeared to be a documentary.

She cautiously knocked on the door. They heard nothing inside besides the low buzz of the TV and a heavy sigh. Before she could psych herself out, she rushed into the room. “Hi, Rich! Great to, uh, see you! How are you?”

She looked up to see him staring at Brooke’s and Michael’s intertwined hands. “Wait.”

“Uh-” Brooke tried to cut in.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” If Jenna wasn’t so distracted by the devastation that overtook his face, she would have noticed Rich’s lisp. “Uh.” He caught on to Michael’s feelings. “I-I didn’t mean… fuck, dude, I’m sorry.”

The tension in the room permeated everything as the four just stared at each other. Michael eventually nodded mechanically before he released Brooke’s hand, and went to sit in one of the-frankly-uncomfortable chairs.

“I didn’t mean to, like, imply anything-” He tried to recover before she shook her head. “Fuck.” He quietly finished.

Jenna exchanged a quick look with Brooke, already wrapped up in her own thoughts. _This_ wasn’t the Rich Goranski they all knew in high school, this was more reminiscent of Rich in-

“Middle school.” Michael seemed to finish for her. “He reminds you of what he was like in middle school, that’s what you’re thinking, right?” He squinted at Rich. “How much pain medication do they have you on?”

“Wh-what?” Rich asked, clearly shocked at his intuition. “I-”

Michael began ticking off fingers. “For one, you have a lisp again-totally against SQUIP protocol, right? Two, you actually apologized to me for _presumably_ hurting my feelings. Three, you’re acting completely different. Four, you’re reminding me of how Jer was when he saw me… while he was drunk. SQUIP free.” He smiled slightly at the shellshocked expression Rich had. “It’s completely turned off, right?”

“I-yes?” Rich’s eyes were almost completely unfocused, but he still appeared to be tuned into the conversation.

Michael seemed to make a decision. “I’ll be back in an hour.” He announced before he marched to the door.

“Honeybun, what-” Michael cut her off.

“I’m coming back. It’s fine. I’m just gonna get something to help Rich.”

Rich’s head snapped toward Michael and he asked, “Mountain Dew Red?”

For the first time that day, Michael gave a true smile. “You know it.”

They other looked on in confusion as he left before they turned to Rich. “What was that all about?” Jenna asked. “And isn’t that what you were crying about at the party before we left?”

His expression turned foggy again before he answered. “Yeah… I can’t believe he has a hookup.”

“Well,” Brooke said, taking Michael’s now vacant seat. “There’s lots of stuff you guys don’t know about him.” She placed a hand under her chin as she stared at the TV. “I’m pretty sure the only person who would’ve known that is Jeremy.”

“And you.” Jenna quickly cut in.

“I-well.” She blushed deeply. She fidgeted with her sweater sleeves before she continued. “I-I meant _before_ he opened up to me. I meant that… Jeremy was the only one who took the time to get to know him. I kind of regret not getting to know him sooner.” She admitted. She fidgeted with her sleeves again before sighing and continuing, “Okay, I actually _really_ regret not getting to know him sooner.” Jenna nodded in silent agreement.

“I think…” Rich said, looking between the two of them. He seemed to be struggling with how to string his words together. “He probably regrets not knowing you guys before now, too. I can’t speak for him, but-but he seems to really care? About you two? Fuck, I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“Aw, Rich!” Jenna cooed. “That is the nicest thing I’ve ever heard you say!”

His face flushed and he tried desperately to shift his face away, but the body cast stopped him. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mumbled. If his hands were free, she could picture him hiding his face in them.

“Rich, you don’t have to be embarrassed about being nice. Jenna,” Brooke sent a pointed glare her way, to which Jenna responded with a bright grin. “Is just poking fun.” She tried to go on, but was interrupted by a sharp _Ping!_ from her phone. She reached for her phone and her tiny smile fell in a mere two seconds. She grumbled something Jenna missed.

“Brooke? What’s wrong?” She asked as she inched closer. She could see her jabbing out a response to whomever was on the other end. When she placed a hand on her shoulder, Brooke jumped slightly and knocked her elbow into the armrest of the chair.

She began to rub the spot and Jenna caught a quick glance of the screen. She only saw ‘Chloe’ before the phone was turned off. “Oh. Uh.” Brooke tried frantically not to catch Jenna’s eye, but that was-surprisingly-difficult. Eventually, she just gave up. “It was Chloe, as I’m _sure_ you can tell. I don’t know why I haven’t blocked her yet, honestly. I’m not even sure why I was going to respond.” The last part was whispered, and Jenna almost missed it.

Before Jenna could respond, another tone went off. This time, she recognized it as the one Brooke set for Michael. Jenna looked at the clock and realized it had only been ten minutes since Michael left. _Where is he?_ She shrugged off her minute, unreasonable worry and settled in to watch the TV with Rich. It appeared to be the documentary from before, but conversation they had ruined any focus Rich had on it. He and Jenna made outrageous comments to pass the time, with Jenna occasionally glancing over at Brooke. After about thirty minutes of random commentary, Brooke stood up and announced that Michael would be back in ten.

“I’m gonna go wait for him downstairs.” She also said before she left the room. Jenna watched her go and couldn’t help but notice the slight stomp in her step. What had Chloe said to her?

“Is she okay?” Rich asked, turning his head slightly to Jenna.

She stared at the doorway for a few seconds before responding. “Yeah. I think. If not, she’s got Michael to lean on.” She paused for a moment. “And me, too. We both really care about her.”

“I didn’t even know you guys knew each other.” Confusion was painted all over his face.

“We didn’t? It was actually the party that helped spur this on.” Rich suddenly looked guilty, shrinking in on himself as much as he could with the cast. Jenna winced. “Sorry, too soon.”

They sat in an awkward silence until they heard Michael and Brooke down the hall. He seemed to be telling her some sort of long winded joke that involved a monk and doors? Jenna couldn’t really make it out, but she could hear Brooke laughing so she chalked it up to a victory. 

When they walked it, Brooke was smiling at Michael’s obviously difficult time of saying the joke. He was gasping for breath while trying to finish the joke. Eventually, he sobered up enough to lean over to Brooke-only to fall into another laughing fit.

“Okay, okay-” She heard him say before he leaned over. She couldn’t make out what he said or his face, but she caught the absolute explosion of anger from Brooke.

“No!” She yelled, covering her face with her hands. “I can’t believe you’d do that to me! That isn’t even a _joke_ it’s just-just-” She gestured wildly with her hand, trying to catch the words she needed. 

“A joke.” Michael added, his expression serious.

“Yes!” She paused. “Wait-no! No it isn’t!”

They squabbled like that for half a minute before they noticed they were in Rich’s room. The thing that pulled them away from their argument was the terribly stifled laughs of the other two. Michael and Brooke blushed and quieted down.

“So, uh, hey guys. Hope you enjoyed that…” He trailed off. There was silence for about two seconds before they all burst out laughing.

Their laughter died off when Rich’s laughter turned into sharp gasps of pain. They all looked over at him worriedly, but he just shook his head. “I’m fine, seriously.” Michael watched him for a moment, clearly debating something again. Jenna thought back to what Brooke said. Maybe he was deciding whether or not Rich deserved his help? To Jenna’s surprise, he offered Rich the Mountain Dew Red. “Plus, I’m gonna be like convulsing in pain and screaming right after this, so-bottoms up!”

“Wait, what-”

When Michael registered what he said, he tried to pull the drink away, but Rich had already taken a huge gulp of it. They all stood in silence for about thirty seconds before Rich started screaming,

“Fuck! He wasn’t lying-GRAB THE DEW!” Brooke scrambled to grab the drink before she stowed it away. The nurses came crashing into the room soon after that. They looked to Rich convulsing on the bed and started shoving them out of the room.

“Wait!” Jenna yelled, shoving herself against the nurse holding her. “Can you tell us when he wakes up again?”

The nurse trying desperately to get her out of the room quickly agreed. “Yes, fine, sure, honey. Just- you three need to leave.” With one last shove she added, “Just call in the morning or something.”

The door slammed shut behind them and they all stood in silence for a moment.

“Well,” Michael said, guilt adorning his face. “I hope that worked.”

They spent the remaining day and night playing videogames, trying desperately to keep their minds off Rich. It was working for awhile before Brooke finally broke. She set her controller down and leaned away from her reclined position on Michael. He immediately paused the game and turned to her. Jenna noticed her fiddling with her ring, twisting it into too many circles. 

Brooke bit her lip and turned away from the two of them. “Do you guys think that Rich is okay? I mean, he was screaming so _loud_ and-” 

“Brookie, look at me.” He gently grabbed her chin when she vehemently shook her head. “He’s going to be fine-”

“ _How do you know, though?_ How can you be _absolutely_ sure that he’s okay?” She sniffled and started twisting her ring even more. Even though Jenna knew it wouldn’t, she was scared it would break. 

“Let’s look at the facts, then.” Jenna started to tick off fingers like Michael did earlier. “For one, he _knew_ it would happen, remember? He said he was going to start convulsing and screaming. Also, why would he take it if it would kill him? I don’t think-” Michael shook his head before she could continue her thought. “Wh-what I mean is, he’s probably fine. Don’t worry too much! There’s nothing we can do and worrying is only gonna hurt us more.”

Brooke didn’t look any less scared, and Jenna looked desperately to Michael for backup. “Like Jenna said, he knew it was going to happen and the Rich I _used_ to know- the one we saw in the hospital- would never leave us hanging like that.”

She wiped at her eyes before she looked back up. “I-yeah. I believe you. Sorry, I’m just-”

“Darling, look at me.” He ignored the quiet squeal Jenna gave. Brooke reluctantly met his eyes and stared into them as he continued. “You don’t have to apologize for being worried. None of us knew that was going to happen, so it’s… completely reasonable to be freaking out. I’m, like, also freaking out but I’m gotten pretty good at hiding my feelings, so-”

“Wait.” Jenna said, narrowing in on the part she interrupted. “Good at hiding your feelings… oh my God it all makes sense now.” She smacked her forehead, wincing seconds afterward.

“Wh-what makes sense now?”

Brooke seemed to catch onto what Jenna was thinking. She smiled hugely as she turned to face Michael fully. “Oh, nothing, sweetie. It’s just that I think we’ve both realized something.”

“Can you guys stop being cryptic for like four seconds? How did you change the topic so fast anyways? Brooke, you were just about to cry-” Michael tried desperately to change the topic back.

“It’s not like we’re embarrassing you. I- _we_ -realized why we never picked up on the fact that you liked Jeremy.” She noticed that he was sinking further into his hoodie. “To the untrained eye, you have like zero romantic feelings toward anything.”

“If this leads into some ‘talk’ about me repressing my feelings or something-”

“Michael, honeybun, it’s fine. We’re not going to force you to talk if you don’t want to. It’s just- you saying that kind of… unlocked something? We couldn’t _not_ share this dawning realization.”

At her words, Michael visibly relaxed. They resumed playing until they could barely keep their eyes open anymore. As everyone relaxed into the cuddle puddle, Jenna set an alarm on her phone for nine so they could call and get their answers. She settled into the bed and found she couldn’t sleep, so she rolled over and pulled out her phone.

She scrolled through Pinterest for ten minutes before she lost interest. She turned her head slightly to the side and jumped when she noticed Michael awake, too.

“Uh, shouldn’t you be asleep?” Jenna asked, not fully turning her head. 

Michael didn’t respond right away and she took that time to really look at him. First, she noticed that Brooke was curled up on top of him, her head resting beneath his. His chin rested on top of her head and his glasses were nowhere to be seen, which led him to holding the phone screen incredibly close to his face. He left arm was loosely wrapped around Brooke’s sleeping frame and he scratched her shoulder gently. When she finally looked at his face, she noticed how tired and worn out he looked.

“I could say the same thing to you.” He finally responded, glancing at her before returning his attention to the screen. She wished he had his glasses on so she could see what he was looking at.

“Clearly I have insomnia, get with the program, Mell.” She responded sarcastically, trying to cover up her worry. “No, but really, why are you awake? Are you worried about Rich?”

He seemed to be thinking something over. “Yeah. That’s what I’m worried about.” He responded blankly. She couldn’t figure out if that was all he was worried about or not.

She nodded her head in response, but she still wanted to press. She decided to go for the easiest topic. His phone. “What were you looking at?”

Michael sighed. “I’ve decided to take a trip down memory lane.”

 _Wow, cryptic much?_ She realized he could be talking about a million things, not just Jeremy. She watched as he took one last look at the photo on screen before he turned it off. He shimmied down the wall slowly as to not wake Brooke, and when he finally reached the bed fully after about two minutes he turned to Jenna.

“I’m fine, Jenna. Stop worrying about me so much.” He said before he placed his head down on a pillow.

She was about to respond, but thought better of it. If he didn’t want to talk, she knew he wasn’t going to talk. She reclined back and stared up at the ceiling. She counted the glow-in-the-dark stars, and she noticed they were arranged in a few constellations she recognized and some she didn’t. She vaguely recalled Michael ranting about them one day and weirdly pausing, which she assumed was because he put them up with Jeremy.

She closed her eyes and tried willing herself to sleep, but she couldn’t shake the dread she was feeling. She chalked it up to it being the usual existential dread and tried to clear her mind.

She fell asleep dreading tomorrow, and she didn’t even know why.

 

The upbeat alarm shocked her out of her dream and she heard Michael grumble something about snakes. She quickly sat up and and switched off her alarm, stumbling out of the bed and out from underneath Brooke’s legs. She glanced at the two who were tangled up and still trying to blink the sleep out of their eyes.

“Guys, don’t worry. I’ll make the call and you two can get your beauty rest for about ten minutes.” She sent them a tiny air kiss and laughed when Michael stuck his tongue out at her. She stretched a little before heading upstairs into the kitchen.

She claimed her usual barstool and searched through her phone for the hospital’s number. When she found it, she twirled a pen she found around her fingers as she waited for a response. Five rings went by and just as she was about to hang up, she heard a peppy woman answer the phone.

_”Hello, Beth Israel Reception speaking, how may we help you?”_ She seemed way too cheery for nine in the morning.

“Hello! I was told to call this morning to check on my friend, Rich Goranski. I was wondering if he’s awake or if we’re able to come see him?” Jenna asked politely. There was no use in getting snippy with the receptionist.

_”Oh! You were the call I was told to look out for!”_ She must have sensed her confusion, because she continued with, _”I talked to his nurse yesterday, and even if I hadn’t, he’s been asking for his friends all morning.”_

“Oh.” Jenna eloquently responded. She was instantly filled with relief when she heard he was asking for them specifically.

_”Yup! So any time you all want to head down here, be my guest. Do you have anymore questions, sweetheart?”_ The lady asked this, but Jenna could tell she was itching to get off the line.

“Nope! I’m fine, thank you!” They exchanged goodbyes and she hung up, thoroughly satisfied with what she knew now.

She marched into the basement and shoved Michael and Brooke off the bed. Michael made some inhuman noise that reminded Jenna of the time Sharpay let out an earsplitting screech when she got the wrong food. Brooke (?) let out a long whine before she landed on top of Michael, who then let out an ‘oof’. It seriously raised the question if that was Brooke or a secret cat he had stashed somewhere.

He looked up from this spot under Brooke and glared at Jenna. “Seriously, Jenna, what the fuck-”

“No time for profanity, my dear Michael, we have a Rich to catch!” She was practically bouncing at this point.

Brooke sat up quickly, letting out an apology when she jabbed Michael in the stomach. “Sorry! Rich is okay, though?”

“Yes! Now, come on! We can’t show up in the hospital looking like this.” She glanced at Michael. “Except you. You wear that everyday regardless.”

“Okay, rude. You know I have at least four other hoodies.”

“Oh, no. Allow me to apologize for the fact that you wear _none of the others_!” Michael freed an arm and sent a pillow flying her way. He hit her square in the forehead and he laughed. “Michael, why not do sports with an arm like yours?”

“I’m pretty sure we all know why, let’s not repeat the obvious.” He feigned anger before he laughed again. “Alrighty, darling, you’re gonna have to get off of me so we can get changed.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “You know for a fact that I don’t have any clothes here and that you’re too lazy to drive to my house.”

“I am not-”

“So!” She interrupted. “I’ll just borrow a hoodie to make it look like I actually care about my appearance.” She tried to ignore the look he gave her. “Don’t look at me like that! I just don’t want to sidetrack and go to my house, okay? You already know I care about my appearance, so don’t give me a look.”

She abruptly got up from Michael and declared that she was going to take a shower. Jenna hastily yelled that she had fifteen minutes before she turned to Michael.

“There’s another shower upstairs, if you want to use it.”

“Well, I do. I was just wondering if you’re okay? I mean, you looked really tired last night.”

“That tends to happen when you’re about to fall asleep, Jenna.”

“I know that! Don’t try to deflect. I really want to know.”

He sighed deeply. “Just go take a shower, dude.”

She could sense him closing up again and decided to leave it. She didn’t even know why she pushed again. Maybe the dread she felt was messing with her? Did it concern Michael? Maybe. She couldn’t tell.

Maybe she didn’t want to know.

 

Rich’s room was noticeably brighter when they entered. It was like the houses in those ghost shows after the ‘demons’ are exorcised. Well, the SQUIP was kind of a demon, so it made a bit of sense. When Rich finally noticed them, he switched off the TV and gave them his full attention.

“Hey, guys!” Jenna could picture him waving if he had the use of his arms. “Looks like I’m not dead.” When he saw the look of horror on Brooke’s face he immediately backtracked. “Not that I thought I was gonna die! I’m just-”

Michael decided to interrupt before he dug a deeper hole for himself. “Dude, it’s fine.”

“You guys probably want an explanation, huh?” He sheepishly looked between the three of them.

“An explanation as to why you pushed my best- _ex_ -best friend into voring a supercomputer would be nice, yes.” Despite the joking tone, she could still feel the reluctance Michael had toward talking it out with Rich.

“What’s ‘voring’?” Brooke asked, looking between Rich and Michael. 

Rich looked all too happy to explain before Michael stopped him. “Rich, no. We’re not corrupting her, not on my watch. Just get to your explanation before I decide to kick your ass.”

“Fine, fine. Okay, so SQUIP. It’s this supercomputer that makes you more chill, in case you haven’t gathered yet. I got mine freshman year in an attempt to become more popular, and it worked so celebration, right? I got where I wanted, but I wasn’t happy. _Still_ not happy, actually. It changed all of these things about me that honestly didn’t need to be changed. I’m gonna apologize now before I forget, Michael. I’m sorry that I just dropped you like you meant nothing to me, and I could easily blame it the SQUIP, but at the beginning? That was mostly me. I wanted popularity and girls, so I stopped _caring_.”

Michael’s face darkened at his words, and Jenna could almost see the internal struggle he was having. Rich took note of his expression before he continued.

“Now, I’m gonna explain how I even knew how to get rid of it and I’d _really_ like to know how you found out, too. Having this abusive piece of shit Roomba for three years was only good for one thing, and that’s how to turn it off for good. It wanted me to trust it so it told me, which is pretty stupid but I’m not complaining. Right before I drank it, it told me something about connectivity. I don’t think it was about wifi, but it shut off immediately after that.”

Michael’s face lit up with a realization. “No, that makes perfect sense. I mean, was your SQUIP connected to Jer’s in any way?” At Rich’s nod, he pumped his fist. “Okay, so, like, it makes sense. To gain information and grow, they’re connected in a system to communicate. It’s like, like-” He snapped his fingers a few times before an accurate analogy came to him. “A cell tower! If you ram a car, or down some Red in this case, into it and it goes down, not just one house is affected but all of them! And if it disconnected itself, then it must’ve wanted to protect Jer’s SQUIP. I don’t see why, though? I mean, you had your own objective and everything.” He began pacing around the room, muttering to himself. “Maybe it changed yours to fit his? But, like, how could it even do that?” He finally stopped pacing to notice everyone staring at him. “What?”

Brooke was beaming. “Nothing except that your enthusiasm is probably the cutest thing any of us have ever seen.”

Rich stared at Michael for thirty seconds before he blinked. He threw his head back onto the pillow and let out a low laugh. Jenna went over to check on him and saw the blush staining his cheeks. Why was he…? “Oh my _God_ , I’m totally bi.”

“Congrats?” Michael seemed confused by the sudden statement, but Brooke looked… smug. Like she knew something they didn’t.

“Wait, wait, wait. Okay, so are you gay? Like your patch says?” He nodded his head toward the patch on Michael’s left arm. “Or are you, like, bi or pan? I’m just so confused since you’re dating Brooke. No judgement here, totally bi now.”

Michael looked down, trying to hide his blush. Jenna and Brooke tried to stifle their laughter. “Oh. Um. Yeah, no. Brookie and me are just QPs.”

Rich’s brows furrowed in confusion. “QPs?”

Jenna’s eyes brightened. “You poor bastard. Okay, sit-you know what, never mind, bad wording. I’m gonna explain to you this wonderful thing Brooke and Michael have.”

The remainder of the day was spent explaining to Rich what had been happening at school and between them. Jenna could tell he was happy to be included on something he had some sort of control over, and she found herself smiling the whole time. She caught Brooke smirking every time Rich paused at random intervals. She couldn’t figure out why, though, and it annoyed her to no end. She decided she would confront Brooke about it when they left.

When they were finally kicked out, Jenna told Michael to go ahead and start the car. She pulled Brooke to the side and questioned her. Brooke fiddled with her ring a little before she turned her attention fully to Jenna.

“What was that smirk about? What do you _know_?” Jenna glared at her and was shocked when Brooke laughed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but shouldn’t we go to the car? I’d hate to keep Michael waiting.” She gave her a smile before she began marching down the hallway. 

“Wha- Brooke! You can’t just walk away like that-” 

Brooke’s tinkling laugh echoed down the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as mentioned previously, sass and shade is next chapter w/ a brand spanking new perspective (finally) and eli is the main author for a dang chapter (rach: and gettin all the damn attention he deserves) so the writin style will be a bit different!!!


	5. Rich Set A Fire Three Weeks Ago and Chloe's Bitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's spent the last few weeks dealing with most of the popular kids ignoring her, avoiding her, or being too busy getting better at the hospital to talk to her. What assholes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE IT IS  
> THE FIRST ALL ELI CHAPTER  
> also chloes perspective bc i love her bitchy ass uahfjdksm

Chloe was not having the best month. In one night she had lost- in no particular order- her pride, her best friend, and her wallet. She wasn’t too torn up about the wallet except for her Pinkberry discount card. The only reason she cared about it all was because her and Brooke used to go there all the time. She hasn’t been back there since the fire. Since the night she royally screwed up with Brooke.

She was jealous, so can she be blamed for acting weirdly? Maybe she went a little too far with trying to sleep with Jeremy, but… she really can’t dig herself out of this hole. She fucked up, but she was trying to make up with Brooke! It was something, at least. Her heart stung when she remembered Brooke’s cold tone. Maybe she didn’t _want_ Chloe to fix things. Maybe she was done with her shit-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar laugh coming from down the hallway. She turned to see Brooke with _someone_ and she felt jealousy burn through her. That should be her walking with Brooke, not some random-

_”Okay, so I need some cars to put down now, Michael. I’ve got a PT Cruiser-”_ She heard the tinny voice of Jenna through the phone Brooke was holding.

“Oh my God, leave my shitty car out of this-” The _boy_ (she refused to give him the satisfaction of a name even in her own head) exclaimed.

“Honeybun, you _know_ we can’t. This game is all about digging up dark secrets and making you suffer.” Brooke let out a breathy laugh, and Chloe’s chest constricted. Was this the guy Jenna said she was dating? She looked him up and down, _really_ looked at him and realized she never stood a chance. This was some cute looking dude with a good five inches on her, at least, if not more. Ugh, why did she even think such a cute girl would go for hot girl when she could have cute, ultra tall guys with…. _nerdy sweaters?! The fuck?!_ She was dating a _nerd?!_ Chloe thought she had taught her better- Oh God. Brooke was wearing his sweater, drowning in the garment in a way that made her chest go tight and the air leave her lungs because _God_ she looked adorable. If she weren’t straight and _obviously_ taken, Chloe would push her against that locker and make out with her _right now-_

She was jostled out of her thoughts as Brooke saw her staring and scowled, taking her tall, stupidly cute boyfriend by the collar and dragging him down to kiss his cheek. If she wasn’t so heartbroken right then she’d have been fucking jealous. Brooke then smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around him before she leaned into him, saying something Chloe couldn’t make out before they moved down the hall, heading toward their class, or whatever, like she cared.

Okay, she did care. She was just… wishing them well… Okay, that sounded fake even in her _own_ head, damn was she desperate. And desperation leads to desperate situations and actions, right? Now she had an excuse! She started speed walking after them, trying to catch up without making it look like she cared. Perfect. No one would ever know she _wasn’t_ a heartless bitch. Just as it should be.

She caught up with them after a few minutes, and called out. “Hey, Brooke! Can we, uhm, maybe talk?” Shit that sounded weak and she stuttered. Well, too late to save herself there. She forced an awkward smile and Brooke frowned, leaning into this dumb, nerdy, perfectly tanned, cute looking dumbass of a boy. Her expression was cold.

The dumb boy decided to respond first. “I don’t know, can you?” She was going to stab him. With a pencil. Assuming it wouldn’t upset Brooke more. Fuck.

“Sweetie pie, it’s alright. I can handle this,” Brooke said, voice warm as it was directed at the boy. _Gods_ did she wish Brooke talked about her like that-

“Gotcha, Brookie. Do you want me to go, or-?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Oh, thank God. I thought I was gonna have to hide out behind that trash can or something.” Brooke laughed at that, pressing her face into his chest before she turned back to Chloe as she cuddled into his chest more with the rest of her body. He smiled warmly at her, and she swore she saw Brooke trace a star on his chest. Chloe was honestly confused as to why this idiot boy wasn’t getting turned on by an absolutely adorable babe pressing into him for dear life.

“So, Chloe, what did you wanna talk about?” Chloe bit her lip at that. She had fucked up. She had fucked up _bad_. Brooke never used that tone of voice with her, and she definitely never called Chloe by anything other than a nickname. She held her upper arms, squeezing them a bit too tight.

“I… I wanted to apologize,” she started and Brooke only raised an eyebrow. “I was a major fucking bitch at that party, and did and said a lot of things I really regret.” Brooke blinked in surprise. Improvement! “I shouldn’t have taken _your_ boyfriend upstairs with me to have sex so I could piss off Jake.” _And make you jealous,_ she added mentally before continuing. “That was a serious dick move on my part, and I’m so, so sorry drunk me-” Dumb tall boy glared, and she squeezed her left arm tighter. “I mean, I’m so, so sorry _I_ did that to you. I completely get it if you’re still, like, super pissed at me. Hell, _I’m_ still pissed at me, and you know I’m hella into making myself out to be the right one in any situation.” She looked away. She hated admitting her own flaws, but she knew she needed to. She had _really_ fucked up. Doing this was the only way to make things right. It didn’t make it any less hard, though.

“So, anyways, I’ve done a lot of fucked up things to you over the years. I know that, and I’m so sorry, and despite all that, this honestly took the cake,” _besides that one time when I paid some broke ass whore to seduce Kropp while you were dating because I saw him flirting with other girls at parties then going over to you and making out with you. I got jealous and angry and hired her and held you as you cried. Not sure how much of a snake that makes me, but oh well,_ she added in her head. She forced another smile. “So, I guess the gist of this is that even though I’ve done a lot of fucking up in regards to you, this was honestly the worst, and I can’t take back what I’ve done, but I’m sorry, Brooke. You can totally keep being mad at me for a bit, okay, well, a while, but…” She took a deep breath. Time to be real. God, she hated letting go of the bitch persona to let people see her soft insides. It usually ended badly.

“I… I’ve missed you, Brooke. I always forget how much your friendship means to me, which is totally shitty, but then something like this happens and I remember. I always miss gossiping with you and eating froyo together, talking with you about Heather while I paint your nails, and… _Everything_. God do I miss it, Brooke. But, I fucked up. Bad. So, I get it if you need, like, some time away from me. But, just… even just text me again, maybe?” She scuffed her shoe on the ground, focusing on the click of the heel on the linoleum. “So, uhm, yeah. Thanks for listening to me ranting about how badly I fucked up and my rambling apology.” She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up from her feet- When had she started crying? She wiped her eyes, seeing Brooke’s blurred outline.

“Chlo,” she started, and Chloe honestly felt the urge to cry harder at hearing a nickname again. “I… I’m still mad. I want you to know that. I’m still definitely gonna need some time. You… You _really_ hurt me, Chlo. Micah can attest to that, and so can Jenna. But… I know you. I know it must have been really, really hard to be so open about that whole thing, so…” The smile Brooke gave, big and bright, reminded Chloe once again just how gay she was for this stunningly beautiful girl. She fucking loved Brooke so much. “Thank you. You owning up to this really means a lot to me. So, yeah, I think I’ll start texting you again.” Chloe felt her face take on a hopeful expression. “But that doesn’t mean I’m still not mad!” She added, face pulling into a pout. “You did do a really shitty thing. But the fact that you told me your true feelings about your actions and your regret… It makes me a lot less mad than I was.” Chloe was hit by a wave of relief.

“I… Thank you, Brooke. I’m… I’m glad I got to apologize, properly. I, uhm, really don’t do that enough, huh?” Brooke laughed again at that, and Chloe felt her breath hitch. Brooke leaned closer to Chloe and her heart sped up as if someone had just slammed down the gas. She felt her face fall a bit when Brooke settled for kissing her cheek and hugging her tight before walking back over to- ugh, stupid nerd boy was still there. God, she hated this kid. She didn’t know him, but she hated him. Her face was still hot from her blush, though, and she opted to cross her arms and look away. 

She heard them whisper to each other before the boy stood up straighter, walking over to her. She froze as he glared at her, Brooke skipping down the hall toward the parking lot, holding her phone to her ear- oh God Jenna had heard that entire apology. Oh God. She only hoped she had the blackmail necessary to keep her from telling the whole school she was actually a softie for Brooke. The boy cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. _God_ he was tall. She didn’t like it.

“She really cares about you, yah know,” he started, sounding almost bored. “I held her as she cried about you, on Halloween.” She felt chills go down her spine. Damn, he was good. “She was angry then, too, after she couldn’t cry anymore. After that whole conversation, we got together.” She looked away and he made a noise of disapproval. She looked back.

He was glaring at her, leaning over her some, and she suddenly remembered who this kid was. Michael Mell, Jeremy’s (ex?) best friend. She only ever saw him like this once, in like, 5th grade. Some idiot kid beat Jeremy up after school and she saw him, towering over the boy the next day. He never came back after that. Transferred out. She knew why.

 _You know, Jeremy really fucked up,_ she thought as he glared. _He left this boy who cared so deeply about his friends he threatened the most popular people at school._ She knew he wouldn’t punch people, normally. Hell, she once saw him help a bee out of the classroom in history. But, she felt like Jeremy, and now Brooke, were the exceptions. Michael spoke again.

“She’s a good person. She doesn’t deserve to be hurt like that.” The _don’t do it again_ , was left unsaid, but she knew it was implied. Heavily. The harshness of his words sent fear down her spine. “She deserves the best. As her boyfriend, I’m trying to give that to her.” _Don’t make me restart the process of helping her open up._ “Have fun fucking Heere, Chloe.” She felt as if he’d just sucker punched her. _Damn_ that was vicious. She was almost proud. He started walking away, following the same path Brooke had taken. “Also, just so you know, as sweet of an attempt as that apology was, I don’t quite believe you.” _Damn_ , Brooke knew how to pick ‘em. This was one hell of a boyfriend. As jealous as she was, she was happy Brooke had found someone who cared so much, who loved her with their whole being and just wanted her to be happy. “I hope Heere’s good in bed, or else you’d have just fucked up a friendship for a shitty lay. See yah around, Valentine. Don’t fuck up things with her any worse. I’d hate to have to punch you.” He gave what she was pretty sure was a shitty salute as he continued walking away, vanishing around a corner.

Damn. 

Brooke was set for life with this kid. She only hoped he didn’t have to go through with that threat.

(She was also glad she hadn’t actually fucked Jeremy. He was gross, and his personality was atrocious. He should have stayed as he was, before… Whatever the fuck happened when he started being cool. Then at least he’d have an amazing friend, still. She would call him out, but she wanted to see Mell do it. His call out would be a hell of a lot better, if their conversation was any indicator.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter ft. michael perspective and a cliffhanger so get ready yall


	6. Michael is Concerned After Meeting a Pitiful Child, Convinces a Local Dad to Buy Pants, and Crashes Local Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael is concerned about the ongoings involving SQUIPS, Jenna, and the play. God, it just got worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YBGUJMFDKOS,C THIS IS A DAY LATE BC ELI POSTS ALL THE CHAPTERS AND WAS OUT ALL DAY YESTERDAY AND FELL DEAD ASLEEP WHEN HE GOT HOME GBNJVSDKMCL,  
> but this is another mostly rachel chapter and hbejdsk i love!!!! praise her!!!!!!!  
> but eli wrote the last few paragraphs. ;)

Michael was extremely satisfied about his ‘talk’ with Chloe. (Could it even be called a talk? It was more like thinly veiled threats on top of obvious threats.) He knew she got the message. And it was honestly cathartic to get some of his anger out, even if he felt bad that it was being redirected to Chloe instead of who he was _actually_ angry at. He was known as a sort of softie here, but he knew people remembered what he did (or rather, _didn’t_ do) in fifth grade. He had to admit, though, that his own callbacks to Jer and Chloe screwing stung a bit too much for his liking.

He eventually met up with Brooke in the parking to find her still on the phone with Jenna. He could tell they were talking about Chloe’s apology, and he held in her contempt for her for now. Brooke noticed him coming and waved, turning on speakerphone.

_”It’s honestly really sweet that she apologized. You know she’s not one to do that sort of thing.”_ Jenna said, and they could hear her shuffling through her locker.

“Yeah, it is, right? I’m honestly still in shock. I’m still mad at her, don’t get me wrong, but I’m glad we can try to be friends again.” Brooke was so hopeful that Michael couldn’t let his cynicism get in the way of that.

“I, for one, just hope she actually realizes how much she fucked up.” Brooke gave him a look and he shrugged helplessly. “I’m just… trying to protect you.”

Her face softened. “Yeah, I know, sweetie.”

_”You guys are so mushy sometimes that I forget you’re not actually- One sec, guys.”_ The two of them exchanged glances as Jenna pushed her phone away, leaving them to only hear faint murmurs of conversation. They sat like that for a few minutes, Michael tracing constellations on Brooke’s arm before the call abruptly cut off. The lack of sound shocked them.

“Uh, what was that? Did she just hang up on us?” Michael asked, staring at Brooke’s phone in confusion. 

“I’m sure she just… accidentally hit the end button. Let’s just call her back, yeah?” Brooke re-dialed her number and sat back against Michael’s car. He noticed her fiddling with her ring, and knew she was nervous despite her laidback attitude about the situation.

After two missed calls, Jenna finally picked up. Michael was sure that all she heard on her end was a frantic mash-up of sentences from the two of them. Michael heard her laugh and he froze while Brooke kept on with her worried babbling. That wasn’t the laugh Jenna normally had around them while they were doing something that was- frankly- stupid. It sounded absolutely fake to him.

_”Guys, I’m fine. Seriously. I just met up with someone and they offered me a ride to the play tonight.”_ She spoke slower than usual, her voice carrying a bored tone by the end of her sentence.

“Oh.” Brooke said. Her usually expressive face was blank. “Does that mean you don’t want us to drive you?”

_”Yeah, I’m good.”_ He could tell that Brooke didn’t sense anything off, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the person on the phone with them wasn’t quite _Jenna_. Sure, she sounded like her, but she didn’t have the friendliness or rushed speech Jenna normally had. _”I’ll see you at the play tonight.”_ Before they could even say goodbye, Jenna hung up.

At that, Brooke actually looked a little worried. “Normally she doesn’t just hang up without a goodbye…”

Michael was determinedly not looking at her, he didn’t want to worry her before the show. He knew how nervous she was for that already, and another thing on top of that… would just distract her even more. “I know. And she said she’s available to talk whenever and wherever, so it’s not-”

“Jenna also doesn’t break promises. And especially not promises like that.”

They began to get in the car, but Michael noticed that the one book they were in there to grab wasn’t there. “Fuck, I forgot my book.” He didn’t mention it, but they both knew it was because they ran into Chloe. “I’ll be back in five, okay?”

She responded by turning on the heater to warm up a bit. “I’ll be here, honey.”

He ran back into the school, barely making it around corners. He was almost out of breath when he reached his locker, but what he saw really took his breath away.

Jenna was standing at the locker and she looked… menacing. Like the final boss in a game. Everything about her posture screamed faux nonchalance, and that set him on edge. He approached her warily, and began to open it up. As he ticked through the numbers on the lock, he spoke.

“Weren’t you getting a ride with your friend?” He asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. 

“Oh, I am. I just wanted to talk to you, Michael.” He shivered. Nothing about her screamed threat, but he was still on edge.

“Okay? Then talk. You know I’m always open to listen.”

Jenna stared at him for a moment before she sighed. “Look, Michael, I’m gonna keep this short. Don’t come to the play tonight.” He heard the squeak of a locker, and he knew she stood up fully- completely abandoning her lax position.

He whipped around to face her. “Don’t come-?”

She ignored his outburst and continued on as if he meant nothing. “If you come to the play, the entire school is going to know the truth behind yours and Brooke’s relationship.”

He froze. He couldn’t make out any words to counteract her threat. Why would she…? 

“Nothing to add? Good. Don’t come, Michael. You’ll regret it if you do.” He could swear he saw a flash of electric blue in her gray eyes before she turned. Before she left, though, she said one more thing. “I’ll also tell everyone how you feel about Jeremy. Don’t. Come.”

He was dumbfounded. He couldn’t think of a single reason Jenna would act like that. No reason for her to tear down something she helped set up. The only thing that wouldn’t want him near the play and Jer was-

His legs gave out from under him with the realization that Jenna had a SQUIP. “Fuck…” He banged his head against the locker a few times before he finally got up. He scrambled to grab the book, and booked it back to his car. 

His head was spinning and he didn’t even noticed he had gotten into the car. He was pulled from his spiraling thoughts by a concerned Brooke. He knew he looked utterly devastated and lost.

“Are you okay, Micah?” She brushed a loose strand of hair away from his face. “Do you want me to drive, honey?”

“I-” He couldn’t articulate anything at this point. “Yes. Please.”

They quickly switched positions and he turned toward the window, allowing his thoughts to spiral once again. Could he even tell Brooke what happened? Would she believe him?

(Of course she would. But there was always that _what if_ floating around.)

Brooke seemed to realize Michael was lost somewhere she couldn’t follow, because she pulled into Pinkberry and didn’t immediately get out. The reason for Pinkberry was that there wouldn’t be enough time to go home before Brooke had to go back to the school. _Not like I’ll be able to go see the play anyway,_ he thought drearily. He had to protect Brooke, so if that meant he couldn’t go… then he wouldn’t go. 

“We can just sit in here, if you like.” Brooke offered, leaving the keys in the ignition.

Michael turned to her. “And miss out on your favorite frozen yogurt place? Nah. I’m fine, really.” He knew she didn’t believe him, but he was too tired to cover it up any better. “Seriously.”

He also knew she wouldn’t push him to talk. “Alright, if you’re sure.”

He smiled and they went into the shop, and Michael purposefully chatted about things that got Brooke excited to distract her. He wasn’t going to worry her.

 

After Michael had dropped Brooke off, he went back home to… well, sulk. He was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do. His self-preservation and fear was trying desperately to keep him home. His selflessness and pride was pushing him to go. He was stuck in a loop on his porch step, smoking a joint.

He was so out of it that he almost didn’t notice Jeremy’s dad come marching up the sidewalk. He thinks almost, since it was hard to miss someone in thermal underwear marching down the street, even if you were previously stuck in your own head. He threw the joint down and ground it under his foot.

“Uh, Mr. Heere, nice to see you?” He tried. He wanted to lighten the mood, but it seemed to be a hopeless endeavor.

Perhaps Michael expected a greeting in return or at least a ‘Hello!’ He didn’t expect what he actually said. 

“Do you love him?”

Michael was so thrown off that he couldn’t hide his feelings. He felt himself blush and knew his face betrayed how heartbroken he was. He began spluttering out a reply. “I- what? Wh-what do you mean, ‘do I love him’? I-I don’t know-”

Jeremy’s dad shook his head. “You don’t have to tell me, Michael, I already know.”

Michael flipped up his hood and sunk further into his hoodie. “Yeah, I’m, uh, just gonna go-”

He grabbed Michael’s hand, pleading with him. “I know he can be a little shit sometimes, but we have to be there for him. I haven’t been there for him and he won’t open up to me- I don’t blame him. But I know he’ll listen to you. You have to help him.” 

“But he doesn’t want me! He’s _never_ wanted me like I want him!” He could feel traitorous tears spring up in his eyes. He swiped at them, but he couldn’t erase them.

“But you’re just what he needs!” He pulled Michael up from the porch step and hugged him tightly. He buried his face in Mr. Heere’s shoulder.

“Okay, okay- if I do this for them-” He saw an eyebrow raised at his usage of them, but elected to ignore it. “Then you have to try harder, too. There’s a Kohl’s down the street- we’re not leaving until you buy a pair.”

Mr. Heere smiled. “You drive a hard bargain, son.”

 

After a surprisingly successful trip to Kohl’s, Michael grabbed a two-liter of Mountain Dew Red and climbed into his car. He thought briefly about grabbing a second before he remembered the connectivity of all the SQUIPs. He stared at himself in the rearview mirror for a few seconds. He looked _tired_ , honestly. But he could also see a gleam in his eyes, a determination to save his friends. He shifted the car into reverse, and began his journey to the school.

He couldn’t shake the dread that almost engulfed him, though. He might be determined, but he was scared, too.

Hopefully tonight ended with him saving his friends rather than…

He didn’t try to think of an alternative.

He snuck through the back entrance of the theater, the one behind the school where half the stoners went to smoke pot, as well as Mr. Lyons, the english teacher, who went there to smoke his cigarettes. Jake was there, vaping, and Michael waved awkwardly at him.

_Was he_ seriously _vaping?_ He didn't have the chance to think about it before he spoke.

“So, you’re Brooke’s new boyfriend?” He asked after taking a long drag. Michael forced a smile.

“Yeah, uhm, yeah. I am.” Jake looked him up and down twice before nodding.

“Don’t fuck up with her. She deserves better.” He scowled. “Jeremy sure fucked that one up.” Michael grimaced.

“Yeah, like you’re one to talk as the dude who only cared about that situation once it involved your ex.” Jake winced.

“Okay, fair point.” Jake smiled. “You seem like a chill dude, though. Even though I sure didn’t help Brooke before, I really should have. I know that. So, I hope you can do better by her than I did.” He made a face. “Or Jeremy. That dude really went the full nine yards fucking things up.” Michael nodded in agreement.

“You don’t have to tell _me_ twice. I know.” He looked back at the door. “But yeah, I’m trying to do my best by her. She deserves the world and more.” Jake smiled and held out his fist. Michael reluctantly fist bumped him before pointing his thumb at the door. “I’m… I’m gonna go say hi to my girlfriend now, so, uh, bye, I guess.” Jake hummed and went back to vaping. Michael quickly made his escape into the theater.

He slunk off to the back of the theater and slid into his seat, waiting impatiently for a glimpse of Jeremy. Soon, people began to fill out the theater, chatting about the people or the remix that was this play. He glanced at his phone, realized he still had ten minutes until it began, and then began to thumb through his music. The amount of white noise was nearly overwhelming. His eyes scanned the theater until they landed on Jenna, who seemed to be scoping out the audience for someone- namely, him. He sunk into his seat and prayed to… whatever that he wasn’t caught.

When the play finally began, he noticed that something was off. He had sat in on too many practices not to notice how suddenly good Chloe was. It wasn’t until Brooke came on that he felt true fear.

Look, he loved Brooke to pieces, but… she wasn’t that great of an actor. At all. He knew for a fact that her entrance and opening lines had been giving her trouble, and the way she delivered them was just unreal. He was already prepared to stop the production when he saw Jeremy fighting with himself in the wings.

Wait. Jeremy fighting with himself?

He rushed down the stairs with a few hushed apologies. He could see the steps to get onto the stage and he leaped up them. When he came to the top, he saw Jeremy collapse at his feet.

“Michael makes an entrance!” He yelled, frowning down at Jeremy’s prone form. He really looked worse for wear- there were tears in his eyes. His frown softened when Jeremy’s face broke out in the most relieved smile he had ever seen.

“Michael!” Michael knew that if Jeremy could, he’d be hugging him right now. A nice gesture to keep in mind when they _weren’t_ trying to take down an evil iPod nano. He reached a hand down to help him get up, which he gladly accepted.

“Before Brooke came on, I was thinking ‘this is pretty good for a school play’. When she entered, I was like ‘this is way too good for a school play!’ They’ve all been SQUIPped, right?” He squeezed Jeremy’s arm briefly before he let go.

“You came to see the play? Despite… me being in it?” The regret was so plain on his face that Michael almost forgave him right there. Almost.

“Even brought my own refreshments.” He held up the Mountain Dew Red and felt that if this were a videogame, there’d be some sort of heavenly light on it. He glanced upward to find that there was, in fact, a spotlight on the drink. Okay, then.

“Is that-”

“Mountain Dew Red! Told you I did my research.” _And you didn’t believe me._ He interrupted smugly. One for Mell versus… three for the SQUIP. The odds were definitely _not_ in his favor.

“That’s amazing- _you’re_ amazing!” Jeremy stretched a hand toward the bottle. “Give it to me!”

Michael started to hand it over before he paused. “Okay- wait. No.”

“B-but I need it!” He implored. He reached for the bottle again before Michael snatched it away, cradling it to his chest.

“And _I_ need an apology. I think that’s something I deserve after you treat me like I don’t exist for months, and blow me off when I try to _help_ -” He stopped, not wanting to go on.

“Michael, I’m-” Jeremy paused, his mouth opening and closing several times. He grabbed at his throat, cleared it, and tried to speak again. “Saaaa- Srrrrr-”

“Jer? Are you okay?” He met Jeremy’s panicked eyes. “You know what? Apologize later, let’s just kill this fucking Roomba.”

He looked relieved for a few seconds before he suddenly jerked forward, swinging wildly at Michael.

“Okay, uh, Jer, this is really funny and all, but I don’t think this is the time to re-enact Kung Fu Panda.” He dodged Jeremy seamlessly. “I really appreciate that you’re trying to _hit_ on me, but now is not the time!” He swore he could hear Jake groan in the background.

“Oh, this is so like you. Using puns at the worst of times. What? Does it make you feel superior? Or is it the fact that you listen to music on vinyl and eat eel in your sushi and don’t care about BEING POPULAR?!” The words didn’t seem like something Jeremy would just blurt out to an audience of people.

Michael dodged another punch. “Of-of course I care! I just know it’s never gonna happen!” 

“So you resent me because I wouldn’t give up like you did?” He swore Jeremy’s eyes were three shades lighter than usual.

“Resent you? For trying? No, I _resent_ you for abandoning me, for calling me a LOSER!” Jeremy actively flinched at that. Good. “Also, why are you trying to hit me if you want to _apologize_?!”

“I’m not trying to!” He cried desperately.

“Well, don’t try _harder_!”

“It’s- Not- Me- It’s- My- SQUIP!” He watched Jeremy crumple to the ground as he said that. “It’s taking over my body! I need your help! I’M SORRY!” Michael rushed over to him and dragged his body over to the wall. Michael held onto Jeremy tightly as he flailed around, sitting against the wall.

He knew he that neither him nor Jeremy had any ability to make Jeremy drink. He looked around frantically until he saw Jake hobble onto the stage. He also heard Christine yelling offstage about how “I was gone for _5 minutes_ and the whole play falls to pieces, God, can I trust any of you children?!” He opted for Jake, who was significantly less annoyed.

“Jake! This is gonna sound super weird, but if I hold down Jeremy, can you make him drink this Mountain Dew Red?” He punctuated his question by kicking the drink over to him.

Jake smiled. “Actually, that doesn’t sound weird at all.” He began to walk over to them before he seized up. After a few seconds, he met Michael’s eyes, dumping the drink all over the floor.

“No! Why would you do that?!” Michael yelled, but he already knew the answer. _God_ was he sick of these overrated fucking floppy disks.

The next smile Jake gave was menacing. “I think you already know the answer, Michael. Also, check it!” He threw his crutches to the ground. _What the fuck?!_

“I-It healed your legs?!” Jeremy yelled, staring at Jake in shock. The boy in question scoffed.

“No!” Michael was honestly more confused than he was a second ago. “I just can’t feel the pain. Pretty awesome, right?!” He then hobbled off to the side.  
Michael was in shock. He stared after Jake until he noticed Brooke and Chloe enter, moving in sync. He shivered.

“I just want you to know,” Brooke addressed Jeremy. “I’m not mad you broke my heart and slept with my friend.” She paused before adding, “I am mad, though, that you broke his-” She pointed a finger at Michael. “-and abandoned _my_ best friend.” Michael was touched. Even SQUIPped, she cared about it. If he had looked down, he would’ve seen the remorse on Jeremy’s face.

After Brooke had finished, Chloe looked to Jeremy. “And I’m not mad you dated my best friend and wouldn’t sleep with me.”

“He didn’t sleep with you?” Brooke asked, genuinely curious. Michael had thought that all the SQUIPs being connected would share that information. Guess not.

“No.” Chloe answered, regretfully.

“He didn’t sleep with me!” Why would Brooke even want to sleep with him? Michael looked down at Jeremy and sent him a tiny, mental apology.

“No!” Chloe gasped. Michael rolled his eyes.

“Oh my _God_!” They began, eerily in sync. “Why was I so jealous of you? You were jealous of _me_? That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me! Sisters forever-” Michael cringed at the phrasing, knowing Brooke’s actual feelings. “-JINX!”

Jeremy leaned against him a bit more, causing Michael to shiver. He just wanted to kiss Jeremy and be out of here. He shoved that down, and tuned into what he was whispering. “Michael… The bottle. I can see a few drops left in it.”

Michael stared past all of the people gathered on stage before he zeroed in on it. “That’s great and all, Jer, but _how_ am I supposed to get past them?”

He could see the smallest sliver of a smile creep onto Jeremy’s face. “Apocalypse of the Damned. Level Nine-” 

“The Cafetorium!” They exclaimed at the same time. Hope was finally beginning to shine through. 

“Got it!” Michael slid out from under Jeremy- regretfully- and gently placed him back on the ground. He began creeping over to the bottle, avoiding all of his peers and friends. He remembered all the times they played that game at Jeremy’s house and in his basement, a twinge of sorrow finding its way into his heart. When he reached the bottle, he turned to Jeremy. “Got it!” He repeated. He started to make his way back over when Jenna stepped in front of him. She stood so haughtily that he was reminded of a final boss.

“I know what you’re doing, Michael. I know what _everyone’s_ doing- ALL THE TIME!” Michael would have been more scared if not for the tears shining in her eyes. 

He looked around frantically and met Jeremy’s eyes. “Jer! Catch!” He threw him the bottle seconds before he was taken down. He struggled against the SQUIPped zombies, and when he saw the beaker they were holding full of Mountain Dew and SQUIPs, he struggled twice as hard. 

He caught Brooke’s eyes, saw the regret flashing despite the electric blue engulfing them and-

The world went black as a broken, robotic version of Jeremy's voice rang through his head.

[ _Calibration in progress, please excuse some mild discomfort._ ] He shook with pain, trying to scream while someone held him tight- Brooke?- and someone else covered his mouth tight.  
[ _Calibration complete. Activation procedure initiated. Discomfort level may increase._ ] Blinding pain coursed through his body as the voice continued. [ _Accessing neural memory. Accessing muscle memory. Activation procedure complete._ ] Michael slumped into the arms holding him as the pain stopped as suddenly as it had begun. "Jeremy" piped up again. [ _Michael Mell. Welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor, your SQUIP. What are-_ ] It stopped suddenly, and quick jolt ran down his back. [ _Objective from Model 88294622 processed. Taking full control in 3..._ ] Michael froze, feeling his eyes widen. No, no no no, he couldn't, he needed to save Jeremy! He needed to save _Brooke_! [ _2..._ ] He felt someone kiss his cheek gently. He shook, feeling tears welling. [ _1..._ ]

_Sorry, Brooke._

[ _Take over._ ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> abkmvdLSC sorry???????? eli's sorry, rachel isnt
> 
> next chapter: a two parter; the same chapter w/ two different perspectives!! ft. two characters who havent had perspectives yet!!!! have fun!!!! The Play is a bigger mess than previously thought, just saying. Eli wrote one half and rach wrote the other. look forwards to it! ;0c
> 
> See what happened to Jenna [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11779290)


	7. The Play ACT ONE: Jeremy Heere Makes a Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The SQUIP has accounted for something Jeremy hadn't even thought about, and he has a revelation. He's not sure whether or not that revelation is going to break his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eli's half of chapter 7!!!!!!  
> ft. jeremy, the squip, and a concerned ms. canigula!!!!
> 
> frejsmdk, im,,,,,, really proud of this,,,,,,,
> 
> also really sorry for it, but still

“Michael!?” he cried, leaning against the wall as he stood, watching for his wonderful, amazing, perfect friend who came back for him even after- even after… Everything. The SQUIP scoffed.

[ _Really? You’re still fighting back? You’re more pathetic than I first calculated._ ]

“Shut up!” He raised the bottle to his lips, even as his muscles fought back against him. The SQUIP spoke again, voice garbled as its projection glitched out.

[ _You don’t want to do that Jeremy-!_ ] 

Jeremy snarled, the bottle dropping some against his will. “ _Why not?!_ ” The projection gave a wolfish smile.

[ _Because then you’ll never be…_ ] It paused, obviously for dramatic effect. Stupid drama queen ass glitchy roomba.

“Be what!? _Popular!?_ ” It made a clicking noise. The smile grew ever bigger, slipping into uncanny valley much too quickly for Jeremy’s likes.

[ _No. Because without me, you’ll never be…_ ] It paused again, turning Jeremy’s head up towards where the students ( _Zombies_ , he thought offhandedly. _Not students anymore. Zombies._ ) had descended on Michael. He saw Christine run on stage just as the zombies parted, revealing Michael. Michael with his soft smile, ruffled hair… [ _With_ him _._ ]

Wait, what?

“Jeremy! I’m alright! Did you see how cool I was when I was grabbing the Red?!” He sounded so excited, and Jeremy wanted to melt at the sound of his voice being happy again. Michael grabbed his hands, grinning. Jeremy had forgotten how warm Michael’s hands were.

“I, uhm, yeah. I-I did.” A shock ran down his spine for stuttering. Michael bounced on the balls of his feet a bit before, looking down, his smile getting softer again. God, had Jeremy missed Michael’s soft smiles.

“But, Jer, I‘ve got something I need to tell you,” he began. Jeremy looked at Michael’s face, avoiding his eyes for fear of seeing hatred there. “You are the person I want to be with everyday.” Shit. There went the wave of guilt in his chest. Michael kept on, smiling softly in a way that made Jeremy’s stomach flutter. “And this is something that I’ve been afraid to say, but…” Christine broke in.

“Jeremy!? What’s going on-” She stopped as she saw the way Michael was holding him. “Does this have to do with whatever Jenna put in the Pansy Serum, because I swear-”

“Yeah, now shut up, slut.” Chloe cut in, and Christine glared at her before looking back at Jeremy, worried.

“You’re the guy I’m so kinda into,” Michael said softly, and Jeremy felt his chest tighten and his stomach twist- oh. _Oh._

[ _Took you long enough._ ]

“Jeremy, whatever’s going on, that’s _not_ Michael! I mean, I don’t know either of you that well, but he seems like the kinda guy who wouldn’t confess in front of a huge audience-” she motioned to the seats. “-since he’s like, super introverted. Plus, everyone seems really, _really_ off! I’m worried!”

[ _Don’t listen to her Jeremy. She’s wrong._ ]

“No, no, Christine is right, this, this isn’t Michael-” The SQUIP let out a chuckle.

[ _I assure you, it is! Only his fears and insecurities have been removed!_ ]

“Jeremy,” Michael continued. His voice was so soft. “I… I was scared to tell you before, I’ve been scared to tell you for a while, but…” he trailed off, looking into Jeremy’s eyes with a smile. “Now, now I feel like I can do anything. So, I’ll tell you what I’ve been too scared to tell you all this time.” Jeremy’s breath hitched. Michael languidly traced the shape of a star on his shoulder as he spoke, smiling big and bright. “Jeremy, I love you!”

He felt his face flush, and he broke eye contact, staring at his feet. He hadn’t been looking into Michael’s eyes, not really, he was looking at his lips and his cheeks, all painted pink.

[ _That’s your cue!_ ] It sounded proud of itself.

“Jeremy, think about it! Why would Michael, the guy who won’t even present in class, spill his guts like this for people he doesn’t even know?” He hated how right she was, because he wanted this to real, wanted Michael to _love_ him. He felt his jaw quiver. The SQUIP snarled in his ear.

[ _This_ is _real, Jeremy! Why would I lie to you?_ ]

“Christine, I-I’ve wanted this for so long, and we don’t even know if he’s SQUIPped-” he started, trying to meet her eyes across the stage, but he couldn’t manage it. She groaned in annoyance.

“Listen to me! How is that… _thing_ Michael?” The SQUIP scoffed.

[ _See? She’s getting defensive. Humans only exhibit defensive behavior harshly when they’re attempting to hide a lie._ ] Christine continued, her voice softened. Jeremy looked back and forth between her and the SQUIP as she spoke.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that’s the guy you love. Tell me right now, say these exact words, ‘This is Michael Mell’.” He felt his blood run cold. Was he even _Jeremy_ right now? His hold on the bottle loosened. The SQUIP grinned, wide and sharp, walking over to stand next to Christine.

[ _Of course it’s Michael Mell! Of course you’re Jeremy Heere! Your faces are the same as they’ve always been, and so are your brains, sans SQUIPs, of course. Go ahead, prove me right,_ ] it dared, making a hand motion towards Michael.

Jeremy looked Michael up and down, God, the SQUIP was right, what had he been thinking to throw this opportunity awa-

His eyes. Michael’s eyes were missing that shine that Jeremy fell for, that vibrancy, that perfect honeyed brown. The constellations in his eyes were gone. His eyes were deep blue now, cold and unfeeling despite the way they were softened by his smile. His breath caught in his throat as he suppressed a sob.

“This is not Michael,” he said, and his chest hurt. He bit his lip to help distract him. The SQUIP hissed, fizzling out of sight before reappearing by Jeremy’s side again.

[ _What are you saying, Jeremy?! Are you saying I’ve done all of this for- for_ nothing _?!?!_ ] it snarled. [ _Michael-_ ] Christine spoke again, cutting off the SQUIP. She sounded so, so sad.

“I’m sorry, Jeremy, but I think you knew before he even came over that that wasn’t Michael.”

[ _No! This here?!_ ] The SQUIP motioned to Michael. [ _This boy is very much Michael Mell. Don’t listen to her, Jeremy! She’s just trying to make you unhappy, like everyone else here, besides me!_ ]

“I’m so sorry, Jeremy.” Christine sounded so sincere, and he looked at her, met her eyes, ready to nod and hold up the bottle. He met her eyes-

She fizzled out of existence. He blinked, and everything vanished. The stage, the audience, the zombies, _everything_.

Everything except him, Michael, and the SQUIP.

[ _This is your cue, Jeremy._ ] The SQUIP sounded calm. [ _If you don’t take this now, you’ll_ never _have it. Michael is going to be angry at you again for everything_ you _did to him again, your friendship will be over, and you’ll be alone. The only person you’ll have left is Christine, and she’ll only stay out of pity._ ] Jeremy swore he heard Christine yelling faintly in the distance. He shivered.

 _I don’t wanna be alone…_ The SQUIP smiled.

[ _You won’t be. You’ll have Michael. He’ll do anything you want right now._ ] Jeremy looked over to the SQUIP.

“He’ll do… He’ll do whatever I want?” he whispered, so quiet he knew no one but Michael and the SQUIP could hear. It hummed.

[ _Absolutely anything. That is what I promised, after all._ ] He could hear in it’s voice how proud it was. How excited it was. He took a deep breath. His chest hurt, it hurt so, so much. He gave one last glance over to where Christine had been before she vanished. His chest hurt so much, and he didn’t know if it would ever go away.

“Drink this,” he whispered, pressing the bottle into Michael’s hands.

[ _W-wait, what are you-?!_ ] The SQUIP’s voice cut off suddenly. Jeremy grabbed Michael’s hands.

“H-hey, Mikey, how… how do you feel?” He knew his voice was heartbroken, but he didn’t care. He just needed to know Michael was alright-

Michael’s head and shoulders slumped, like a computer powering down. Jeremy felt cold fear shoot down his spine, the feeling so, so much worse than the shocks the SQUIP gave him-

“Mi-Michael?! Michael, are you-!” He was cut off by Michael’s head shooting up, dropping the bottle as he let out an ear splitting scream. One by one, all the SQUIPped students and Mr. Reyes all slumped before shooting up again, screaming until Jeremy felt a jolt of pain that was worse than the installation pain shoot up his spine. He joined the screaming before collapsing to the ground. He reached for Michael’s hand as he heard the SQUIP’s garbled voice calling his name as though from a distance. He swore he saw stars dancing behind his eyes, like the one he helped put on Michael’s ceiling. His fingers brushed Michael’s hand, and the SQUIP screamed, voice glitched and garbled.

The world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coming soon: part 2 ft. another new perspective. same scene, different eyes and ears.  
> meaning as soon as eli can put it up after this one erjnfmkdasl
> 
> enjoy!!!


	8. The Play ACT TWO: Christine Makes an Entrance!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christine's perspective.
> 
> How would someone without voice in their head respond to a situation where someone is being hurt so badly by something they can't see, hear, or interact with? 
> 
> Christine tries her best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rachel's half!! ;)
> 
> have fun kiddos its gonna stay bad until it gets better in three days

Christine watched what was _supposed_ to be the play unfold. She knew she could be liberal with improv, but this was _too_ much. She vaguely recalled that Michael wasn’t even in the show. She was beginning to get worried. All of the acting up until this point was spot on, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She thought back to last year’s show and sighed. Had someone spiked the Pansy Serum? Again, since last year’s show brought about LSD-spiked Elderberry wine. The only good thing was that the kid playing Cousin Teddy hallucinated so in character that everyone called him the star of the show.

She thanked her lucky stars that she refused to drink the glowing mess, and began to make her way toward the stage when she heard a crash. She looked out to where Michael had been standing seconds ago and saw a dogpile. _Is he okay?!_ She ran onto the stage just as Michael stood up, the other actors parting to let him through.

Christine saw him approach Jeremy, who looked star-struck. She could swear she saw stars in his eyes. She registered that Michael was confessing- _confessing?! Michael?_ \- before she cut in. “Jeremy?! What’s going on-” She stopped. Michael was holding Jeremy in a very… intimate way. He held onto his arms, head tilting slightly to the left and he looked _in love_. She could see how much Jeremy was leaning into Michael from where she stood. She decided to keep asking questions. “Does this have to with whatever Jenna put in the Pansy Serum, because I swear-” 

“Yeah, now shut up, slut.” Christine guffawed. _I’m ace, what are you even implying-_ She glared at Chloe before she looked back at Jeremy. Everything that had happened during the play had made her worried and this on top of that didn’t lessen it.

As if she hadn’t spoken at all, Michael continued on with his confession. “You’re the guy I’m so kinda into…” She looked confusedly between the two of them. Michael had the same soft expression she had seen earlier. Jeremy, on the other hand, looked like he had been hit over the head by a frying pan.

“Jeremy, whatever’s going on, that’s _not_ Michael! I mean, I don’t know either of you that well, but he seems like the kinda guy who wouldn’t confess his feelings in front of a huge audience-” She gestured to the amount of seats, and remembered how he never went up to present in any of the classes she had with him. “-since he’s, like, super introverted. Plus, everyone seems really, _really_ off! I’m worried!” She glanced at the audience, who seemed absolutely enraptured by the “performance”. Well, at least they could write this off as some really cool improv thing involving most of the cast and one audience member getting drugged. Same thing as last year. God, that was probably _really_ bad. Oh well.

He looked like he was having a conversation with himself, which she assumed he _was_ , since he had mentioned that SQUIP thing to her earlier. After some internal debate, he glanced to Christine. “No, no, Christine is right, This-this isn’t Michael-” He cut himself off, looking toward a vacant spot next to him.

Michael(?) seemed to sense his disbelief. “Jeremy,” _how was his voice that soft, and that easily heard? How was he stage whispering in a believable way? She needed to ask him about that-_ “I… I was scared to tell you for awhile, but…” He trailed off, looking into Jeremy’s eyes. If she hadn’t been so creeped out, she would’ve ‘aw’-ed right along with the audience. “Now, now I feel like I can do anything. So, I’ll tell you what I’ve been too scared to tell you all this time.” Whoever this was had Jeremy wrapped around their finger. “Jeremy, I love you!”

She could see the moment Jeremy processed what he said. He blushed deeply, dropping his eyes to the floor. Christine wished this was for real, so she wouldn’t have to interrupt the moment. “Jeremy, think about it! Why would Michael, the guy who won’t even present in class, spill his guts like this for people he doesn’t even know?”

He looked up and she caught his eye before he turned away again. “Christine, I-I’ve wanted this for so long, and we don’t even know if he’s SQUIPped-”

“Listen to me! How is that… _thing_ Michael?” She groaned in annoyance, both at herself and Jeremy. She could tell her harsh tone was losing him. She tried again, softer. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that’s the guy you love. Tell me right now, say these exact words, ‘This is Michael Mell’.”

He glanced between her and the boy in front of him. He tilted head slightly to his right, listening in on a voice Christine couldn’t hear. Jeremy looked him up and down, scrutinizing him. He froze when he finally looked Michael in the eyes. “This isn’t Michael.” 

She winced at the heartbroken tone of his voice. “I’m sorry, Jeremy, but I think you knew before he even came over that that wasn’t Michael.” She could feel tears welling up. “I’m so sorry, Jeremy.”

He met her eyes briefly before they went blank. She tried to make her way over to him, but the people around her forcibly held her back. She yelled out his name a few times before realizing how futile it was.

“Jeremy, I don’t know what it said to you, but it’s lying, okay? Whatever it’s promised you, it can’t _give you_! _Please!_ ” She begged. The tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally fell. She felt like this was the end. Game over.

If she wasn’t being held hostage by these… _zombies_ she would be wiping them away. The absolute defeat she felt made her slump over. She glanced upward one last time and caught Jeremy’s eyes. He smiled to her in a broken way before turning fully to Michael.

He looked like he wanted to fall into his arms, but he held himself back. She watched him hand over the Mountain Dew Red. Then, as she slumped back into her captors’ arms, she heard him whisper, “Drink this.” She could feel his sadness and regret. It cut her deeply. 

The bottle was immediately taken, and Jeremy winced- Christine had no doubts about why. For about half a minute nothing happened, and Christine could feel her heart shrivel up.

“H-hey, Mikey, how… do you feel?” Jeremy questioned. He was completely heartbroken, Christine knew.

The next thing she knew, Michael’s head and shoulders slumped. It vaguely reminded her of a computer powering down. “Mi-Michael?! Michael, are you-!” His head suddenly snapped up and he loud out a terrible screech, one that had Christine covering her ears. Like dominoes, the SQUIPped students and Mr. Reyes slumped before shooting back up again, letting out screeches similar to Michael’s. She watched in horror as Jeremy jolted and began screaming, before he- and all the others- collapsed onto the ground. She saw Jeremy reach for Michael’s hand before he passed out.

For about five seconds, she was calm. Then _she_ started screaming. “Oh my God, oh my _God_!” She was interrupted from her chaotic thoughts when everyone started clapping and whistling. “That-that wasn’t a part of the play! Someone call 911 or-or _something_!”

All at once, everyone registered that she wasn’t acting any longer and at least five people immediately pulled out their phones. Christine would have, too, if not for the fact that she had fallen to her knees and began crying again. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She took her face away from her hands to meet their eyes.

“Are you hurt?” They asked, helping her to her feet.

“N-no I’m fine, really. You guys should be worried about…” She glanced over to everyone. “Them. They took, like, ecstasy or something and I-I don’t-” She started sobbing again.

The medic was quick to assure her that they were getting help. She suddenly stood up when they began to leave. “C-could I-” She didn’t know how to articulate what she wanted, so she gestured wildly to the ambulance. They must have seen her desperation because they smiled softly. 

“Of course.” They helped her into the ambulance and she saw that she was riding with Jeremy. He was breathing deeply and she felt a surge of relief. At least he was okay. 

_Well,_ another part of her reasoned, _he could be in a coma._

She quickly ignored the pessimistic part of herself and focused on the objects around her. She wouldn’t panic, not yet.

She just hoped Jeremy and everyone else would wake up soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;) ;) ;)
> 
> next update: new perspective, sad boys, angry girls, and concerned fathers not necessarily in that order
> 
> hope you enjoy this chapter and the update in 3 days!!! ;0c


	9. They All Have Voices In Their Heads, And They're All Trying To Make Their Voice The Loudest One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich is concerned for everyone, and then comes out to half of the group that didn't know in advance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;o
> 
> enjoy!!!!! this is an eli chapter and hbrjdkms i love,,,,,,,,, richard goranski,,,,,,,,

To say Rich was surprised when almost the entire cast of _Midsummer's_ was admitted to the hospital was an understatement. He was really freaked out when a bunch of doctors moved him two beds over and put Jeremy Heere and Michael Mell in the vacant ones.

“What happened?!” he asked them, and the paramedics sighed before Christine burst into the room after Jeremy. She looked tired. Christine never looked tired. Honestly? That scared shit out of him. “Christine?! Are you-” She noticed him and rushed over, plopping herself into the seat next to his cot that Brooke had moved there the other day. She looked over at Jeremy and Michael, concerned, but seemed to be calmed some the the fact they were breathing. She looked up at him with a tired smile.

“Uhm, someone put ecstasy in the Pansy Serum-” she started, but Rich gave her a look.

“Alright, then why is Michael here?” She froze, caught in her lie. “Chrissy, it’s ch- _fine_ , it’s fine, I just wanna know what really happened.” He paused, looking at Michael’s sleeping face. God, was he worried for this kid. Christine let out a shaky breath.

“Alright, so, uhm, Jeremy tried to offer me this weird supercomputer pill earlier-”

“ _Motherfucker-_ ” Christine jolted.

“Rich?!” He sighed.

“So, uhm, long story short, I know about the pills. You can start from when it all fell to shit.” She winced. “Assuming it did! For all I know only those two idiots got hurt!” She shook her head. “Oh.”

“Yeah, it was, uhm, the whole cast,” she said softly, and he cussed under his breath. “It was, uhm, like, _really_ bad. Alright, so, Jenna put these weird tic-tacs in the pansy serum early on, which was just Mountain Dew, but apparently they were the, uh, pills and pretty much the whole cast and Jacques- I-I mean, Mr. Reyes drank it-” Rich cut her off.

“Wait, you’re telling me his first name is Jacques?” She nodded and he laughed. “Damn, that fits him so well. Sounds pompous and cool while also making you sound like a tool.” She snorted at that and he smiled. “Anyways, continue with your tale.” She hummed.

“So, uhm, everyone who drank the serum became, uhm, I think the best word for it is zombies? Jeremy’s pill was really in control, I think.” Rich nodded, listening raptly to her story. She fiddled with her hands, bouncing her legs up and down as she continued.

“So, uhm, halfway through Act Two Scene Two, Jeremy starts fighting with himself on stage, and Michael jumps up from the audience holding Mountain Dew Red, Jeremy continues fighting with himself, there’s this big hoe-down on stage after Jake drops his crutches for no reason besides the pill making him immune to pain or something?” Rich raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. “I was confused by it too and I was there, but, uhm, anyways, the Dew gets spilled, Brooke and Chloe had a creepy bonding moment after saying they weren’t mad at Jeremy for the most part, except Brooke was still angry for Michael’s sake, which was, like, super sweet.” Rich nodded, thinking back on how Brooke practically lived in Michael’s lap whenever they visited him.

“Uhm, back to the explanation!” she continued. “Michael jumped up to grab the bottle, which still had a few drops in it, threw it to Jeremy before he got caught by the zombies, Jenna came up and I think I saw him almost start crying before they covered him, and I ran on stage. Jeremy started talking to himself, and it was really weird hearing only one half of a conversation, anyways, he was about to drink the Dew, but then Michael emerged from the dogpile of people on the stage and started confessing his love to Jeremy?” Rich blinked in surprise. Wow. He had been right after all. Score one for Goranski. Christine sighed. “And the audience is lapping up all the drama, thinking it’s actually part of the play!” she groaned, and that got him to laugh.

“Sorry, Chrissy, but that’s honestly hilarious, and sounds right knowing our play.” She groaned.

“I know! That’s part of what makes it the worst!” she whined. “Anyways, back to the story again, I start yelling at Jeremy about how that isn’t Michael because he’s obviously really socially anxious, so he could never confess to someone in front of an audience, but Jeremy’s arguing with himself again and I’m certain the pill was trying to convince him that everything would be good like that? But eventually after enough yelling and screaming by me and him being held in a really intimate way by Michael, he gave me this broken smile, held up the bottle, and had him drink the Dew.” Rich whistled.

“Shiiit, Chrissy, sounds like a hell ‘uva night!” She groaned.

“It gets worse, Rich! So Jeremy is standing there heartbroken and Michael is just looking at him until Jeremy asks him how he’s feeling and Michael just-” she paused, imitating the computer shut down motion he assumed Michael had made before sitting upright again. “And then he stands upright again and screams super loud and everyone follows in suit with the weird shut down thing then screaming, then they all passed out, and I started screaming, and then we called 911, and-” Rich cut in, shushing her gently.

“Hey, Chrissy, it’s alright. All of ‘em are here now, they’re being cared for, and everyone’s good. Plus, now you don’t have all that knowledge alone, yah know? It’s…” He paused, looking over at Michael. “It’s nice to not be the only one.” She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes with her costume- “Oh. Chrissy, you should probably go home. Your outfit for the play can’t be comfortable, and I promise you I’ll have ‘em call you when they wake up. You should sleep though, take care of yourself, drink some water.” He glanced at the clock. “They’re gonna try and kick you out soon anyways. If you need, I’ll throw a hissy fit to make ‘em let you come back if one of ‘em wakes up, ‘kay?” She looked up at him, biting at her lip before nodding. He grinned. “Great! Now go home, Chrissy, take care of yourself.” She smiled weakly before pausing.

“Wait, why do you have a lisp? Did you get a tooth knocked out during the fire?” Her worry was obviously renewed, and he laughed her off.

“Nah, I just had a SQUIP, same as the rest of them. Michael helped me kill mine ‘bout two weeks ago, though,” he explained, looking up at the ceiling. “He’s a good kid, Mikey. But yeah, I’ve had my SQUIP since the middle of freshman year. Little shit fucked me up bad, but it’s gone now. Made me do a lot of things I regret, made me hide a lot about me.” He sighed before looking over to her with a smile. “But I’m finally me again. So it’s all good. Head home Chrissy. Get some rest. You’ve earned it.” She nodded slowly before getting up and walking out. He sighed, left to the relative silence of the hospital room. He’d talk to Michael in the morning. For now, he just turned on the television to stupid re-runs of He-man and She-ra, and let the sound of shitty 80’s voice acting lull him to sleep.

 

When he woke up, he noticed Jeremy staring blankly at the ceiling, wincing. He gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Hurts like a motherfucker, doesn’t it?” Jeremy startled at his voice, whipping his head to the side before wincing again. Rich chuckled. “It’s weird having your head stop telling you how disgusting you are, how to hold yourself, how to be _chill_.” Jeremy hummed lightly, and Rich clicked his tongue. “Alright, so, I gotta say, I did some fucked up things while SQUIPped, Jeremy, but damn, you really, you really took the cake, dude.” He winced, and Rich smiled. “Brooke, Jenna, and him all visited me. He gave me the Red. They told me ‘bout Halloween.” Jeremy looked away from him, and Rich heard him take in a sharp breath once he saw Michael on his other side. “Christine told me ‘bout the play, too.” Jeremy gave no sign that he’d heard him. “You two should talk.” Jeremy sighed, staring at Michael’s sleeping face.

“Rich, I… I can’t. I can’t tell him. That- That was probably just the stupid SQUIP making him say all that. I know he doesn’t feel the same, not after…” He saw Jeremy fidget with his sheets. “Not after everything I did and said to him.” Jeremy let out a broken laugh. “He deserves so much better than me.” Rich was about to say something, but the door slammed open and Brooke stormed in, and the dark expression on her normally happy face shut him up fast. Jeremy bit his lip.

“You.” She stared Jeremy right in the eyes, and Rich could swear he saw the boy start to sweat.

“Y-yeah?” Brooke narrowed her eyes and walked up to Jeremy, standing next to his bed. Then she raised her hand and slapped Jeremy with such strength and a resounding clap that had Rich half convinced the kid just got slapped back into 7th grade. Jeremy yelped.

“Oh- Okay, I def-definitely deserved that. Ow.” She glared.

“You bet your ass you did, Heere.” Rich was honestly terrified to be watching this. Brooke had never been so intimidating and scary ever and here she was, scarier than his buff ass when he would threaten Jeremy. He was both terrified and incredibly impressed and proud of her. “Now,” she continued, crossing her arms as she leaned into his face. “You seriously fucked up on Halloween, _kid_ , and sure, you broke my damn heart, but that’s small fries in comparison to breaking my _boyfriend’s_ heart,” she snarled, and Rich blinked. Wait, was she specifically making Jeremy jealous while trashing him to hell and back? Damn, girl was going for _blood_. That again both impressed and terrified him. He stayed silent. Jeremy whimpered. “He cried into my damn chest that night, and he was so broken. I hated seeing someone I loved _so much_ hurt _so badly_ because of _you_ , Heere.” Jeremy put a hand to his cheek.

“I-I’m sorry-”

“ _Sorry_ isn’t going to cut it, Heere, ‘cause you need to apologize to him in a long, thought out discussion.” Jeremy nodded, eyes wide and terrified. “And if you ever, _ever_ hurt him like that again, I will not fucking hesitate to break both of your wrists so any time you look at your hands, or your dick, ‘cause you can’t masturbate without a wrist, you’ll remember what you did and feel pulsing fucking regret. And you better bet my black-belt having ass can break your wrists without a second of difficulty, Heere.” If Rich wasn’t so fucking scared right now he’d whistle. Jeremy nodded quickly, wincing. She leaned back, nodding to herself. “Good. Now, I’m going to go sit by my _boyfriend_ and hold his hand ‘til he wakes up.” She then walked away from Jeremy and around Michael’s bed, dragging a chair with her to sit in beside the boy’s hand so she could hold it. Rich decided to call in a nurse to whine so Christine could come again.

 

He raised an eyebrow when Jeremy sobbed as she entered the room, but that was explained when he rubbed at his eyes, mumbling “I’m sorry,” over and over again. She shushed him and sat in the chair between his bed and Rich’s.

“Christine,” he started, voice shaky. “I-I’m so, so sorry for ruining the play, I know you worked really hard on it and it mattered a lot and I _ruined_ it-” She shushed him gently.

“It’s okay, Jeremy. I know you weren’t in full control. Rich explained it last night. It’s fine.” Jeremy nodded, tears in his eyes. Christine laughed a bit. “Plus, honestly, it was really, really bad. Jacques didn’t do a good job writing it, like, at all.” Rich hummed.

“The man probably threw hot pockets at a keyboard to make it.” That got a weak laugh out of Jeremy and full-on cackling out of Christine. He grinned. “Also, Jeremy, I’m like, super bi, so if you wanna talk about how adorable Michael is I’m down ‘cause the kid was my bi awakening too,” he explained, and Christine sounded like she was asphyxiating on the floor she was laughing so hard while Jeremy squawked indignantly.

“I-I! What!? Why wou-would _I_ have a crush on my _best friend_?!” Rich started laughing. Jeremy sighed. “So, uhm, I guess Christine told you?” Rich wheezed while Christine piped up with a weak “yep” from her spot on the floor. Jeremy groaned. Brooke shushed them from across the room.

“I may hate your guts, Jeremy, but I also was there for the whole play debacle so-” He started coughing heavily. She laughed. “I get it, Micah is adorable and wonderful and perfect,” she kissed his cheek and Jeremy turned red with what Rich assumed was a mix of embarrassment and jealousy. He was honestly really impressed Brooke was being this petty. He never thought she _could_ be mean after he got to know her, honestly. It was actually kinda funny, but he kept that to himself. Christine hummed as she fiddled with the edge of her skirt.

“I-I, uhm, yeah,” he replied lamely, and Rich was having a _very_ hard time restraining laughter of any kind. Brooke laughed again. They all heard fast-paced talking in the hall. Brooke lit up, bouncing in her seat.

“Jenna!” she exclaimed, just as the girl in question burst into the room, sitting in her hospital wheelchair while the nurse behind it who pushed her panted heavily. She wheeled herself over next to Brooke.

“Mikey still not up yet?” Brooke shook her head. Jenna frowned. “I hope he’s ok.” Brooke nodded, worrying her lip. Jenna took her hand. “Hey, Brooke, hun, it’s gonna be ok. We all woke up, there’s no reason he wouldn’t.” Brooke nodded again, fiddling with her rings. Rich bit his tongue, and Jeremy started tearing up again. It was in the awkward silence that the door slammed open and Mr. Heere came in, looking over at Jeremy before rushing over.

“Son! Are you ok?” Jeremy blinked in surprise, and Rich cursed himself silently while he pushed down the jealousy in his chest at having a dad who cared. His dad hadn’t visited him at all. Christine grabbed his hand, and he smiled at her. Jeremy looked at his dad in shock.

“I-I, yeah, I’m fi- _are you wearing pants_?” He sounded incredulous. Rich was honestly concerned that that was not a thing the man apparently did normally. Hell, even _his_ dad wore pants. Not a high bar, there. Jeremy’s dad continued, sighing in relief.

“Good. And yes, I am! I’m the man of the house, it’s my duty!” Rich watched, eyebrow raised. “Alright, now that I’m sure you’re good, you’re grounded, young man!” Rich’s eyebrows furrowed. That was a real thing parents actually did? “Really?! _Ecstacy_ , Jeremiah Heere?! You could have started off with pot, that’s safer!” Rich looked to the side, desperately trying to contain his laughter. Jeremy was about to get in trouble, not for doing drugs at all, but for doing a _harder drug specifically_. The fact that he knew that the kid hadn’t done X in the first place made it better. Christine was biting her finger to avoid laughing too from what he could tell, the way her shoulders were shaking and all. Brooke hummed from her seat beside Michael while Jenna typed something on her phone, possibly a tweet containing the words Mr. Heere just said. Jeremy sputtered.

“D- Dad! That’s- _That’s_ what you’re mad about?!” Mr. Heere hummed.

“Well, I mean, I’m mad you apparently hurt your best friend and were rude to me, but I’m more mad you put your health severely at risk! Most ecstasy is laced with other harmful chemicals! Pot is much safer, and for all I know, could help with your anxiety!” Jeremy sputtered again, and Rich was having a very hard time not cackling, and settled for snorting instead. Christine was giggling softly. Jenna hummed while Brooke softly sang a song Rich couldn’t make out from across the room. Then, a devious idea came to mind, and Rich stopped laughing as he grinned wide. Christine, still giggling, looked slightly concerned. He cleared his throat and spoke, making sure to use a drama voice.

“Hey, Mr. Heere!” The man in question looked over at Rich. “So, you don’t know me, but I’m one of Jer’s friends!” Jeremy looked slightly concerned. Good. “ _Aaaand_ , while we’ve been sitting here in these _wonderful_ hospital beds, I was told something by the lovely lady next to me, say hello Christine.” She waved and he continued. “Chrissy here told me that our _best friend_ Jeremy has a c-r-u-s-h on _his_ b-e-s-t-f-r-” Jeremy let out a screech suddenly, his face bright red, and Rich fucking _cackled_.

“ _Wh-what?! I-I don’t have a crush_ -” His voice cracked on the word ‘crush’, which caused Rich to cackle more. “- _on **Michael**_!” His voice cracked again when he said Michael, sending Christine into a fit of giggles on the floor. Mr. Heere blinked before whooping loudly.

“ _Yes_! Laura owes me 20 bucks!” Rich made a noise of confusion amidst his laughter at the name. “My ex-wife. She said Jeremy was straight, I said he’d be queer. Gotta tell her about this-” Jeremy let out a high-pitched whine as he breathed out, finishing the noise with a weak wheeze.

“You and mom _bet on my sexuality_?!” Mr. Heere nodded as if it was a normal thing to do, looking at Jeremy with confusion.

“Uh, yeah. Your grandma’s gaydar has yet to be wrong.” Rich was wheezing he was laughing so hard, and even Brooke had joined in to the laughter at this point. Rich was honestly worried Christine was gonna pass out.

“Bubbe _has a gaydar_?!” he all but screeched, and Christine actually fell to the floor laughing. Rich glanced over at Jenna and saw her covering her mouth with one hand as she recorded Jeremy with her phone using her other. Oh, sneaky. He’d have to watch this again later. Mr. Heere chuckled.

“Jeremy, _Bubbe is_ gay.” Jeremy made an inhuman noise of confusion. Mr. Heere looked at him apologetically. “Oh, Jeremy, you didn’t know? Why did you think Nana lived in the same house as her and held hands with her and kissed her cheek?” He sputtered.

“I-I thought they were just friends!” Brooke let out a long suffering sigh from her corner of the room.

“Jeremy wouldn’t know gay if it hit him in the face.” Rich suddenly recalled the time in gym, 8th grade, where Michael accidentally hit Jeremy in the face with a baseball bat, and remembered the way Michael fawned over him for the rest for the day, looking at him with regret and a lot more adoration than an 8th grader should have looking at their friend with a black eye and bloody lip. He supposed that yeah, Jeremy absolutely didn’t know. What a nerd.

“I gotta apologize to Nana and _Bubbe_ next time we see them,” he groaned, and Rich laughed. He looked at Christine who had passed out on the floor. Oops.

“Uhm, guys, Christine laughed so hard she passed out-” Brooke gasped and rushed over, quickly checking Christine’s wrists and forehead before sighing in relief.

“Christine’s fine, I just checked her vitals.” Rich let out a sigh of relief. Jenna looked confused.

“Wait, you know CPR?” Brooke hummed.

“Yeah, and first aide in general. I did Girl Scouts for about 8 years, so I have a lot of knowledge!” She grinned. Wow. Kid just got even more impressive. Jenna hummed.

“Makes sense- oh shit his eyes are fluttering!” Brooke rushed back over, grabbing Michael’s hand and holding it tight.

“Micah? Hey, Micah, are you up? Please, say something honey, I’m really worried-!” Michael let out a soft groan and she sighed with relief.

“‘M fine, River, ‘m fine,” he slurred, obviously still tired as hell. Rich understood that. What he didn’t get was Michael calling Brooke by a completely different name, but it wasn’t his place to ask. “Can you stop squeezin’ my hand so hard though, hun’?” She smiled and loosened her grip before crawling into the cot with him, cuddling up next to him. He let out a happy sigh, and Rich thought he heard Jeremy’s breath hitch. Brooke sighed happily as she pressed tiny kisses into Michael’s neck. Mr. Heere took that moment to leave the room before kids started getting saucy or something.

“I’m so glad you’re up honey, I was worried-” He shushed her gently.

“Mmm, ‘m fine, just tired.” She fiddled with the edge of his hospital gown. “What is it, Brookie?” Rich glanced over and saw Jeremy grip the sheets of his hospital bed while his dad looked on apologetically.

“Uhm, do you remember what happened at the play?” Shit. Good question. Rich gave her mental props and planned for a high-five once he was out of the full body cast. Michael looked up at the ceiling, blinking.

“I remember goin’ there, getting on stage, fightin’ Jer, getting the dew, tossin’ it to him, then…” He paused. “Then it all goes fuzzy and black.” Jeremy took in a sharp breath and looked away from Michael, and Rich saw how stiff his posture was, and how his nails had to be digging into his palms, badly. He honestly felt a little bad. Although, anyone with fucking eyes could see that Michael had heart eyes for Jeremy, but he’d already confirmed the kid didn’t know gay if it hit him in the face like a frying pan. Brooke seemed concerned.

“Why’s that, honey?” He hummed.

“The SQUIP took over my body,” he said nonchalantly, while Rich just blinked. It _what_. “Said somethin’ ‘bout gettin’ a new objective from another SQUIP or some shit.” Holy shit. Jeremy was gonna think it was all a fabrication. He was gonna have to wingman for an idiot. Oh god. Jeremy wouldn’t stand a chance without him, especially with how the kid could no longer look Brooke in the eyes for fear of being dropkicked. Brooke let out a gasp and hugged him close.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry, that must’ve been so scary-!” 

“Eh, I was chill with it, mostly. I was mostly worried ‘bout not havin’ been able to help you, babe.” Rich was pretty sure Jeremy was silently crying into his pillow at this point. Christine groaned from her place on the floor.

“Uhg, I laughed so hard…” she groaned, holding her chest. She looked up, confused. “Wait, what’d I miss?” Michael hummed and she shot up. “You woke up!”

“Oh, you’re here too, Christine? Nice to see you,” he sounded a bit sad saying that- Oh god he still thought Jeremy had a killer crush on Christine, didn’t he. Jeremy looked up from his pillow staring at the ceiling, looking almost broken. Rich sighed. Jeremy wiped his face and looked over at Michael, smiling weakly.

“So, uhm, h-how are you, Michael?” Rich noticed Jenna cringe as he snorted. Nice, go for stupidly formal. Michael laughed anyways.

“Good, since they’re gone. It was pretty shitty fighting everyone.” Jeremy laughed weakly.

“S-sorry you had to fight me, Michael. You… You never deserved any of it. Any of the shit I did and said while fucking SQUIPped.” Jeremy’s hands were clenched tight again. “I am so fucking sorry, and I know, I hurt you a lot, and I can never, never take that back, and I’m going to regret all of what I did for the rest of my life, but I want to make it up to you. I want to show you I can be a good friend again.” He took a shaky breath. “I… I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if that’s what you want,” he explained, voice rough with tears and quiet. Michael sighed.

“Jer,” he started, and Jeremy looked like he was about to start bawling again. “I’m still really hurt over the whole thing. You abandoned me without a second thought, _twice_. That was shitty as fuck. I had, like, two breakdowns over that.” Jeremy winced. Brooke stared at him with raised eyebrows. Rich was honestly torn between feeling sorry for Jeremy and being with the rest of them in being kinda pissed at him. Michael tangled his fingers with Brooke’s. “Brookie can attest to that. But…” Rich grabbed for Christine’s hand for comfort. This was really emotional despite it not being aimed at him at all, and he also missed holding hands with people. She was happy to hold his hand, thank god. “I want to start healing from that. As your friend.” Jeremy started bawling for real. Michael blinked, looking concerned.

“Th-thank you!” Jeremy replied through tears. Rich got the feeling it was both heartbroken tears at the ‘friend’ and happy tears at the ‘I was just given a second chance’ thing. Michael sighed, smiling fondly at him while Brooke looked torn. She whispered something to Michael, who broke out laughing, causing Jeremy to wipe at his eyes, looking over at them with a sad smile.

“Ho-holy shit, Brookie, I’m s-so sorry, you’re- You’re absolutely _right_ , it’s the same thing-”

“Well at least now I know why you didn’t believe her.” Rich wondered what that was about, but Jenna hummed knowingly. He supposed it wasn’t his place to know. It wasn’t his place to know a lot of things, but he still _wanted_ to know. That was kind of a given. Michael hummed, he let go of Christine’s hand, and Jenna piped up.

“Alright, so now that apologies have been had and explanations given, I vote we all bail- and before you ask, yes Rich, you and Jake are cleared for check out as long as in wheelchairs once they replace some of your bandages. But, I vote we all go to Pinkberry and talk this shit out, since I know a lot more about everyone than I did before, while also letting Brooke eat comfort food. We can stop by a 7-11 for Michael’s, because there are like, 3 that are on the way.” Rich blinked, surprised. Damn, he always forgot how _together_ Jenna was. It was like she was their adult friend who made all the plans.

“Ok, mom,” he said without thinking before going red, and she raised an eyebrow before breaking out in laughter.

“O-Okay, not what I was expecting, but equally good!” Jenna laughed, and Michael smiled at her, squeezing Brooke’s hand. Rich was honestly really jealous of that, but he could maybe be like that with Jake one day. Oh, Jake and his pretty blue eyes, and bright smile, and-

“Oh my god Jake is the hottest man I’ve ever seen,” he blurted before realizing he said that _aloud_ and shrunk into himself, wince at the way his skin pinched around the burns. Michael gave him finger guns.

“Not gonna lie, Jake is fucking ripped. I’d tap that if I weren’t, well, you know.” Rich did know . If he weren’t _head over heels for Jeremy_ , but that wasn’t for him to say. He just thought it was a bunch of bullshit involving that whole situation, but he understood. SQUIPs sucked ass. Jeremy looked away from Michael before quietly piping up.

“I mean, he is really pretty…” Michael started choking on his spit, which made Rich laugh despite his embarrassment. 

“Wa-wait, what did _straighter than an arrow, I’m head over heels for every cute girl I see_ boy just say?” he asked, voice cracking on the say, which he disguised poorly with a cough. Rich gave Brooke a knowing look.

“I, uhm, might be really bi?” Jeremy said, looking like he’d just come out to his family at Thanksgiving and not a room full of gays. Michael just fell back onto his cot and stared at the ceiling. Rich laughed.

“So, _how_ did both of you forget to tell that to each other?” he teased, and Christine pouted, poking him in the cheek.

“I-I just fo-found out.”

“I literally wear a gay pride patch everywhere. I thought he _knew_.” Jeremy sputtered.

“Wait, what!? I thought that was just an aesthetic thing-!” Michael groaned, while everyone else sans Jeremy started laughing.

“Oh my god, my best friend is an idiot-” Jeremy suddenly looked confused.

“Wait, if you’re gay, how come you’re dating Brooke?” Michael froze, biting his lip some.

“Uhm… Well, I’m uhm…. Mostly gay! I hadn’t found a girl attractive until I met Brooke. Yep. That’s exactly why. I’m 99.99% gay and 0.01% straight combo bi. That’s what it is. Absolutely.” God, Michael was digging himself into a hole. Jeremy just nodded, looking down as he played with the sheets of the cot.

“Oh, uhm, got it.” _Oh my god, Jeremy’s a bigger idiot than I first thought._ A nurse then stepped into the room, carrying lots of gauze.

“I’m going to have to ask everyone else to leave, you’ve all been cleared to, and Ms. Rolan has already started most of the paperwork needed for us to allow you to leave. You can complete it in the lobby, and Mr. Goranski will join you after we discuss how he’ll need to care for his wounds.” Everyone slowly filed out, Brooke staying attached to Michael while Christine hopped beside Jeremy, talking about how everyone loved the ‘act’ and about some musical she was into currently. Rich sighed and hummed, ready for the long conversation.

 

Which ended up being 3 minutes long while the nurse reapplied the salve and gauze. Ok. He was wheeled out to the lobby, handed normal clothes, and greeted by everyone in their normal attire.

“Ok, so that was stupidly fast,” he commented, and Michael shrugged.

“By the way, I forged your absentee fuckwad’s signature so you’re ready to go,” Jenna offered passively, as if it was a _normal_ thing to know how to forge the signatures of your friend’s parents.

“You know what? I’m not even gonna question that,” he decided. “Let’s go get some frozen yogurt from Pinkberry and some shitty slushies from Sev-Elev.” The rest of the group gave either passive or excited (that was just Brooke) answers before piling outside, smiling in the daylight.

He was pretty sure things were gonna be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned for More Talking in three days ft. jake havin his chapter what a good boy
> 
> also it might be another double so look out for that ;0c


	10. There Are Still Voices in Our Heads, and We're Learning to Talk Over Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake is trying. He's trying and succeeding half the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a rach chapter!!!
> 
> ok so we said possible double update, but bc the other perspective is gonna have extra stuff after the events of this chapter, and because eli wanted to release on time instead of late bc he couldnt finish his part, so this is a single update!!! we hope yall enjoy it!!!

Things were not going okay.

Well… they were going okay, until Jake decided to open his mouth and comment on the shared experience they all had.

“You know, that ecstasy or whatever was so weird,” he began after swallowing his current bite of pomegranate froyo. “Like, I hallucinated that Airbud freed me of my pain.” 

As he chewed on a sour patch kid, Jeremy choked on air and Rich snorted. He turned to Jeremy and saw that he was frozen, staring into his own cup. Michael seemed lost, too. He was just shoving bits of M&M’s around in his cup. Rich sensed the change in atmosphere and turned his head to Jake.

“I hate to break this to ya, Jakey D, but that wasn’t a hallucination.” He said, leveling his gaze with Jake’s.

“So you’re telling me that I, Jake Dillinger, did not- in fact- hallucinate a basketball-playing dog freeing me of my pain? Sounds fake to me.” He said seriously, staring into Rich’s eyes. He only blinked when Rich began laughing loudly, moving to cover his mouth with his hand. 

“Oh my _God_ , Jake, how can you say that with a straight face?” Jake always found it incredibly cute when Rich laughed this hard. He began to wonder if him laughing this hard pulled at his skin, though. 

He was about to answer when he noticed Michael shift the tiniest bit away from everyone and closer to Brooke. She also must have caught on because she wrapped her arms around him, kissed him on the cheek, and began humming some sort of tune to him. He looked over Michael and noticed the stormy expression on his face, and how he twisted his hands on his sleeve. Him looking at Michael also led to him wondering about Jeremy, so he turned his head to look at the other quiet boy. Jeremy had practically shrunk into himself and he kept his gaze away from anyone’s eyes, guilt overtaking his face.

He knew everyone would notice him stop talking soon, so he beat them to the punch. Maybe getting Jeremy and Michael to actually talk _separately_ from that all would solve the issue. He hoped so, at least.

“Hey, Jeremy, Michael, why don’t you guys go talk about some stuff alone? Like, I know you guys didn’t say everything you wanted to earlier, and having an audience isn’t the best for this kind of thing.” He gestured to a booth in the corner of the shop, the furthest the two could get away from everyone. Michael glanced up toward Jake and looked like he was about to shake his head before Jeremy stood up. The fast motion from the previously frozen guy made everyone jump and look at him.

“Yeah. Yeah, let’s go, Michael.” Jeremy scrambled to his feet, looking like he _really_ wanted to get to the other booth. Michael reluctantly followed suit and began untangling himself from Brooke and the booth. He sent her a reassuring smile when she reached out a hand, and Jake noticed the nearly imperceptible shake of his head. He gingerly took Jeremy’s outstretched hand and they began their trek to the far-off booth.

Jake watched them get settled for a minute, before he turned to the rest of the group. They all had varying levels of anxiousness adorning their faces.

“Oh, c’mon guys, they’ll be fine.” Christine said, smiling to everyone in turn. “Michael can finally say what he wants to, and no audience this time!” He figured she was referring to the play and the hospital room. He smiled warmly in return and refocused on his froyo. He frowned when he noticed there was more liquid than frozen yogurt. 

Despite what Christine said, she was the first to wonder how their talk was going. When she received a few incredulous looks, she shrugged. “You can’t tell me you aren’t a little curious.”

“Oh, honey, I’m a lot curious, but I still respect their privacy.” Jake scoffed a little bit, but he managed to disguise it as a cough. Jenna and privacy had never really mixed, in his mind. People can change, he supposed. “Don’t give me that, Dillinger,” his head whipped up in surprise. He didn’t think she would actually notice.

“What?” He asked innocently, pushing a tiny sour patch kid around. 

“Don’t scoff and act like I don’t know what privacy is. I have respect for people.” She glared at him. “Unless they piss me off, like someone right now might I add, then I have zero respect.” She gave him a sharp smile, and returned to her phone.

“Ooh, Jake, get shut down!” Rich pushed on his arm a little, before he returned his attention back to the boys across the room. “Wonder what they’re talking about?”

Brooke squinted. “Well, all the color just drained out of Micah’s face so I’m guessing Heere told him _exactly_ what happened. And that’s my cue.” Jake looked on in confusion as Brooke effectively shoved everyone out of her way. She only paused when Chloe stood in her way.

“Chloe, if you want this rekindled friendship to last, you’re going to get the fuck out of my way and you’re going to let me go comfort my boyfriend.” She glared at Chloe, whose mouth opened in shock before it clicked shut. She harrumphed and reluctantly took her seat again. 

Brooke gently pushed Jake’s wheelchair out of the way before making her way over to Jeremy and Michael. Her fists unclenched and she wrapped a soothing arm around his middle. She nodded once at Jeremy before burying her face in Michael’s neck. Jake noticed him stare at the two sadly for a minute before he continued.

Jake moved his wheelchair back toward the table and tried to ease the awkward tension. “So, uh, conversation has really _frozen_ hasn’t it?” He was already cringing by the time his mouth let that slip.

There was a pause before Christine began cackling uncontrollably, hitting her hand against the table. Rich groaned and let his head rest on the table.

“Jake, no, please just let Michael have the puns.” His head turned and Jake was momentarily stunned by the small smile Rich had. Wow, Rich was actually really fucking pretty. Good for whatever girl snagged that hot piece of ass. 

“Excuse you, Goranski, I’ll have you know I make great- no, _amazing_ puns.” He crossed his arms and haughtily turned his head away from him. 

“Sorry, Jake, but you can’t make a good pun to save your life.” Chloe remarked, sending a devilish smile his way. He glared at her and she sent him a wink. 

“Why am I being betrayed by my closest friends?” He put an arm to his forehead and fell as far back as his wheelchair allowed. 

“I’d defend you Jake, really,” Christine began, placing both of her hands on the table and pushing herself a bit upwards. “But you just aren’t that great at puns.” She shrugged. They had only dated for a few weeks, but Jake had _thought_ Christine would know him better than that.

“Jenna, sweet Jenna, please show these… _heathens_ that I’ve made good puns before.” He recalled some past conversations with Jenna, and despite his own groaning at himself, he _knew_ he had made several puns before. 

Jenna scrolled through her feed a bit before she glanced up at him. She kept his gaze before she finally said, “no.”

Every began laughing at the betrayed look on his face. Externally, he gave an obviously fake scoff and turned his head away again. Internally, he smiled at the fact that he had lightened the mood. He was about to make another, rather horrible pun when he glanced over at the other table. As conversation neatly flowed on, he watched as Michael began more and more distressed.

He seemed to be explaining something, and he pulled at his hair more frantically as he went on. _Wow,_ Jake thought, staring at Michael’s hair, _he should really have it down more often. The natural curls frame his face so_ well. He ripped his attention away from Michael’s hair and watched as Brooke began trying to calm him down. She gently took his hands and wrapped them in hers, placing them on the table and nodding at Jeremy to say something. Brooke had it all together, but Jeremy seemed at a loss. These past few months had really sent their friendship (hadn’t it been twelve years or something?) down the drain.

Jeremy looked like he wanted desperately to grab Michael’s hand, to make him _understand_ something, but Brooke wasn’t having it. She basically hoarded his hands to herself, and was giving him no slack in the explanation _or_ apology department. Good on them for finding people that would defend them. Michael calmed down quite a bit as Jeremy went on, but the stormy expression from earlier had returned. Now that Jake thought of it, it seemed like the kind of expression directed at yourself or your own thoughts.

He was probably overanalyzing, like usual. There was no reason for Michael to be mad at himself, he was the one most hurt here. What about their talk would cause that? The confession? No, that was all the SQUIP, right? Michael was with Brooke, so there was no reason for that confession to be real. It seemed pretty evil (even if he only got to see an Airbud version) and would totally take over someone for ulterior motives. But there was also-

“Yo, Jakey D, you good?” Rich interrupted his mile-a-minute thoughts and Jake’s head snapped back to the table he was _currently_ at.

“Oh, yeah, I’m good. I just spaced out, is all.” He sent a reassuring smile his way, and it faltered a little bit when Rich didn’t believe. “Really, I’m fine.” He said quietly, touched by Rich’s concern.

“If you say so, dude.” He turned back toward the group and looked like he was about to tell a terrible joke before the scrape of chairs on the floor interrupted him.

Jeremy, Michael, and Brooke got up from their table, and they paused before exchanging glances. They were having a silent conversation about whatever just went down and Jake would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested. He knew he was burning his gaze into their backs, and he quickly turned his eyes back to the table.

As they made their way over, the group quickly composed themselves and attempted to act like they _hadn’t_ been trying to figure out what they’d been saying. ‘Acting casual’ included Jenna draping herself over Christine’s back, who was bending over the table with her chin in her interlocked hands. Chloe had stood up and dropped into the splits on the floor, and Jake found this both simultaneously intimidating and impressive. Rich had leaned back into Jake’s lap and brought and arm to lay across his eyes, and Jake was the only one who followed the ‘casual’ aspect to a T. Meaning, he was sitting upward and intensely _ignoring_ the person in his lap. He smiled to the group when they were finally in range to notice.

The first person to notice was Michael, who broke into loud laughter and collapsed onto the floor, holding his stomach and was wheezing by the time Brooke dropped down to check on him. Jeremy just stared in confusion as Chloe brought herself up from the floor. He looked torn between amusement and concern when he finally looked at Michael. The expression Jeremy finally decided on was completely lovestruck. Jake felt kind of bad, considering that he was head over heels and that Michael was dating Brooke. He couldn’t blame the guy, Michael was one seriously hot dude. If he wasn’t one-hundred percent straight, he’d totally tap that.

Once again, his mouth decided to ruin the moment. “So, did you guys talk about what Michael said-”

Before he could continue, Brooke tackled him and covered his mouth with her hand. Huh. He didn’t expect Brooke to be this solid. “SH. NO. STOP TALKING, JAKE!” 

“You’re like, swole as fuck, Brooke, where do you work out?” He asked instead, planning on asking about all the shit that just happened once they were all home, and not in a public space, in a private group on snapchat.

Brooke blinked. “Uh. I don’t?” He gawked at her. _How? What were her_ secrets _?_

“Okay, fuck that, I don’t believe you. I’m gonna get your workout secrets one day.” He turned his wheelchair toward Jeremy and Michael. “How are you guys feeling?”

Michael caught on mere seconds before Jeremy answered. “I’m fine, I guess.” Michael began shushing him when he started to answer and Jeremy turned to him, tilting his head in confusion.

“Hi, fine, I’m Jake.” He held out a hand to Jeremy.

There were a few seconds of silence. Brooke looked between the two of them in confusion before horror dawned on her face. She placed her face in her hands, and Michael began cackling. Jenna and Christine tried to stifle their laughter as Chloe groaned loudly.

“God _dammit_ , Jacob Roger Dillinger!” She spun on heel and stomped her way out of the shop. Everyone followed suit, stomping exaggeratingly and generally mocking her anger. Eventually, it was just Brooke supporting a gasping Michael, a dumbstruck Jeremy, and Jake.

“Jeremy, you look like you’ve been hit over the head with a frying pan. You alright, homeslice?” He began wheeling himself out of the shop, glancing back toward him.

“Yeah, I’m- nope. No. Not falling for that again. You’re worse than Michael sometimes.”

Michael gasped, pushing himself out from Brooke’s arms. “I take offense to that. My jokes are _way_ better!”

“Uh huh. Sure, sweetie.” Brooke looped her arm with his and began pulling him out of the shop. “The last joke you made was about Jeremy hitting on you.” 

Michael was being pulled away ahead of Jake, so he didn’t notice the blush that suddenly appeared on Jeremy’s face. Jake waited until he had made it out of the shop to wave goodbye to the amused-looking cashier. He wheeled himself up to one of the cars and waited patiently as they helped him in, and he leaned his head against Rich’s shoulder.

He hoped everything worked itself out in the end. Because, well… this really wasn’t the happy ending anyone had envisioned, he figured. Maybe Jeremy would tell Michael how he really felt outside of weird influences. Maybe Chloe could actually figure out who she liked. That would save him a lot of pain, at least.

At least he has himself figured out. 

Right?

Sure. Totally. Definitely.

...

It’s normal to think that your male friends are super hot, right? Because Jake Dillinger was one-hundred percent straight. No doubt about it.

…

Fuck.


	11. There Are Still Voices in Our Heads, and We're Learning to Talk Over Them and to Be Okay With It All Because We Can't Change the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy learns to be okay with it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an eli chapter!!!  
> ghfdsjk this is it yall..... the last chapter in the main fic, unless we decide to move the content from one of the side fics into this, which might happen  
> well, i hope you like it!!!! hfdjk

He was fucked. He was so boned.

[ _Oh, you just_ wish _you were boned-_ ]

He almost started choking on the bite he was taking on his froyo. God, was he glad he went with the cherry and not the lemon. It reminded him of better times before he had a snarky supercomputer in his brain without any real sway over him anymore.

[ _Hey, it’s not like_ I _want to be here either, dumbass. I’m just stuck, and making shitty comments is my only source of entertainment. No one else can hear me. So you’re stuck with me forever,_ ] the SQUIP reasoned, sounding bored. It was at that moment Jake decided to pipe up.

“You know, that ecstasy or whatever was so weird, like, I hallucinated that Airbud freed me of my pain.” Jeremy started _actually_ choking on his froyo at that while Keanu Reeves’ voice cackled in his head.

[ _Oh my god, I thought Dillinger was smart, yet he didn’t realize Christine’s horrid excuse was bullshit?! Oh, this is the best._ ]

Jeremy tried to stop choking while Rich just let out a sigh.

“I hate to break this to ya, Jakey D, but that wasn’t a hallucination.” Jake blinked owlishly.

“So you’re telling me that I, Jake Dillinger, did not- in fact- hallucinate a basketball-playing dog freeing me of my pain? Sounds fake to me.” The SQUIP cackled even louder in his head, which hurt, and he curled in on himself, feeling waves of guilt for having left everyone with shitty abusive supercomputers in their heads that worsened injuries they already had. He scooted away from Christine when she tried to put a hand on his arm. The SQUIP continued cackling in it’s glitchy, stupid Keanu Reeves voice. The noise stopped. Then started up again in _Michael’s_ voice, and he started shaking slightly in his seat.

 _Stop. Go back, change it so something else, just,_ stop, he thought at it , and it sighed, using Michael’s voice _wrong_ , it wasn’t Michael, the tone was all wrong and he _hated_ it.

[ _Fine, idiot. Your reaction was fun though. I’ll do something that won’t send you into shutdown mode. Ugh, you’re so_ needy _._ ] It chided before going silent and piping up again in a shitty rendition of Hatsune Miku’s voice. [ _Better?_ ]

 _Much._ He was jolted out of his reverie when Jake said his name.

“Hey, Jeremy, Michael, why don’t you guys go talk about some stuff alone? Like, I know you guys didn’t say everything you wanted to earlier, and having an audience isn’t the best for this kind of thing.” He could kiss Jake right now, he needed a distraction, and as much as he loved most everyone at this table, they really weren’t helping. Michael looked up, looking like he was about to say no-

“Yeah,” he interrupted, standing suddenly. “Yeah, let’s go, Michael,” he said quickly, looking at the far off table in desperation. He watched as Michael smiled apologetically at Brooke, untangling from her slowly, which in turn slowly relieved some of the jealousy pooling in his gut. He held out his hand and bit his lip when Michael took it, leading them to the table in silence. He slid into the seat awkwardly, forcing a smile.

[ _You do know everything going on in your head right now is completely and utterly pathetic, and your forced smile is making him feel awkward too, right?_ ] Hatsune’s voice chided before clicking its tongue.

“So, uhm, what else do we need to discuss, Jeremy?” he asked, fiddling with his hands and picking at the skin by his nails. Shit, he only did that when he was anxious.

“W-well, uhm, I might kinda still be hearing my SQUIP?” Michael blanched.

“Wait, didn’t you drink the red!?” Jeremy laughed awkwardly.

[ _So, are you gonna tell him what he said and wait for him to become disgusted because he’s already dating someone else and is deeply in love with them and cuss you out then stop being your friend forever only after the rest of the group ostracizes you?_ ] it asked, sounding gleeful. Jeremy gulped, looking away from Michael’s face.

“You- You were the one who drank it,” he explained, and Michael blinked several times before making a confused noise.

“Why was _I_ the one who drank it!?” Jeremy offered a weak smile, which felt way too forced.

[ _That’s because it is dumbass. God, you’re just so terrible any recommendations I could give wouldn’t even help! You’re just that far gone, Ariella!_ ] it taunted and he flinched at the deadname.

“Because I gave it to you to drink. Because the SQUIP was…” he trailed off, biting his lip. The SQUIP was right, it had to have forced Michael into saying things, otherwise Michael would have been kinda in control, right? The glitched voice of Hatsune Miku giggled in his ear menacingly. “Because it was trying to get you to be my friend again without any repercussions for me, so you wouldn’t hate me for everything I’d done and said and how much I’d hurt you-” He stopped when he noticed Michael getting pale. “Shit, Mikey, are you ok?” He heard far off commotion. He ignored it. Suddenly, Brooke slid into the seat next to Michael, wrapping an arm around his waist. Jeremy looked at her, worried. She nodded once at him before shoving her face in Michael’s neck.

[ _Awww,_ ] the SQUIP cooed. [ _How romantic! Brooke and Michael are so good for one another, unlike_ you _and Michael. You’re just a parasite to him._ ] He simply watched them sadly for a bit before speaking again, balling his hands into fists on his thighs.

“So, I’m sorry. I guess I kinda brought you over here to explain the whole thing that happened at the play and also as a personal distraction from…” He trailed off again, pointing at his head. Michael nodded and Brooke started shaking in anger.

“I’m sorry, what? Are you saying it’s _not. Gone?_ ” she spat, and Jeremy gulped.

“N-no, mine isn’t… But it’s not able to do anything anymore! Just… Insult me. It’s fine. It- It isn’t shocking me anymore, so it’s fine-” Michael blanched.

“It _shocked_ you?! What the actual fuck?! That’s like, literal torture, dude!” Jeremy winced. The SQUIP laughed.

“Alright, so I hate your guts still right now, but honestly? That’s really concerning. Anyways, we can discuss what ways the SQUIP classically conditioned you later. Right now I want you all to talk about your apology, and whether or not Michael’s fully okay with it,” she explained, keeping her voice curt and professional despite being draped over Michael like a koala. It was honestly really impressive. Michael stiffed before running his hands through his hair.

“Okay, Jer, look, I- I _really_ want to forgive you-” he started, and Jeremy forced a smile.

“Th-that’s-”

 

“L-let me finish,” Michael cut in, and Jeremy nodded as he pressed his lips together, digging his nails into his palms under the table.

[ _Oh pathetic, Jeremy. You can’t even self harm properly? God, you’re useless._ ] He stiffened and listened to Michael intently, trying to ignore the stupid voice in his head. It laughed. [ _I’m here forever, Jeremy!_ ] it taunted, and he listened to Michael instead.

“L-look, I-I want to forgive you. I really, really do. But… But I _can’t_ , not yet. I-I need…. Time to heal? Fuck, I don’t know, but-” He was pulling at his hair, and Jeremy lifted his hands to try and stop that, but Brooke beat him to it, gently, taking Michael’s hands and holding them on the table.

“Hey, sweetiepie, it’s okay. You’re allowed to want time.” Michael bit his lip.

“Mike- Michael,” Jeremy added, fidgeting with his hands. “You absolutely deserve that time, especially after everything I di-” Michael cut him off again after putting his hands back in his hair, pulling anxiously.

“God, how _selfish_ is that!? To let my fear that I'll forgive you too easily get in the way of us becoming friends again? Like, why can't I just be grateful you want me at all, after I'm alone for months?! I-” Jeremy reached for Michael’s hands again when he noticed his knuckles going white, but Brooke’s glare before she took his hands made him stop.

“Micah, honey,” she started, voice soft and comforting, and everything Jeremy wished he could be for Michael right now. He sat back and twisted his fingers just far enough to be brushing the edge of pain. “It’s not selfish, you _deserve_ time to heal! You’ve gone through a lot because of hi- _it_ ,” she looked him dead in the eye when she said that, and the way it made his heart drop was exactly what he deserved. The SQUIP cooed.

[ _Aww, now you’re getting it! Why did I have to convince you to self-depreciate earlier when you do it so well on you own?_ ]

“Y-yeah, Michael, it’s fine. You… You don’t owe me… _anything_ after what I’ve done,” he offered softly, staring at Michael’s hands under Brooke’s, desperately wanting to hold them and convince him with kisses to his too white knuckles and-

[ _But you don’t deserve to even_ touch _him after what you did,_ ] it said, voice filled with faux sympathy. He ignored it, forcing a smile as he put his hands back on his thighs under the table.

“Michael, I… I did a _lot_ to you, and honestly? I don’t even _deserve_ your forgiveness right now. I… I want you to be happy, to have time to heal.” He started to rip at the tattered edges of his cardigan. “I-I know you forgive people r-really easily, and if you need me to avoid you so y-you can keep being angry for a bit, that’s fine, because I totally get it.” he hated that he was speaking and thus couldn’t chew on his knuckles to calm himself down a bit. He forced another weak smile instead. Michael let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, I… Thank you, Jer. For understanding. I mean, I’m not gonna avoid you, because I already determined that fuckin’ sucked-” Brooke pressed a kiss under his ear and Jeremy felt his shoulders tense as he took in a sharp breath through his nose. “-but, I needed that. I’m- I’m still gonna be kinda mad, because, well, you know, but, uh, I guess we’re okay now?”

[ _He’s just leading you on. Letting you down softly because he’s too nice despite it all. You really don’t deserve him, you know that, right?_ ] He forced back the tears and smiled wide instead, hands shaking under the table.

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re mostly good.” Brooke glanced over her shoulder before stretching.

“Alrighty! So boys, now that all’s been said that needs to be said, do you wanna head back?” It laughed. She put on hand on the table towards him, palm up. He looked at her, confused until Michael mimed putting his hand in hers. He cautiously put his hand in hers and she squeezed it in a comforting way before helping him up, leaning into his ear as he did. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s gone, and you’ll both heal. I may hate you, but he doesn’t. I want him to be happy, and you’re a factor in that. So stop accidentally cutting your palms open, alright?” she whispered, pressing his hand to his chest before spinning around and wrap an arm around Michael. He stared at her in shock as she started walking, following them in confusion while he glanced at his hands. His palms were bleeding, little crescent-shaped cuts lining them. He hid his hands in his pockets, looking up just as they got back to the table.

Chloe was in the middle of the splits for some reason, Rich was draped over Jake’s lap, Christine and Jenna were also in equally odd positions, and Michael has just fallen to the floor, laughing. Jeremy was torn between feeling concerned and being happy Michael was laughing again- _God, he’d missed Michael’s laugh_ \- which was fine. He settled for what he hoped was somewhere in between for his expression while biting his lip a bit. God, he loved this boy so, so much. He justed wanted him to be happy, even as his heart sunk watching Brooke fawn over him.

“So,” Jake interjected, and Jeremy looked over at him. “Did you guys talk about what Michael said-” Jeremy winced at that, and suddenly Brooke was throwing herself at Jake full force, pressing into his side as she covered his mouth, yelling at him.

“SH. NO. STOP TALKING, JAKE!” He seemed to fear Brooke some, considering he dropped it immediately, much to Jeremy’s relief.

“You’re like, swole as fuck, Brooke, where do you work out?” he asked, sounding curious. Jeremy could attest to that. He was pretty sure his cheek was bruised from her slap earlier.

“Uh. I don’t?” she said, sounding even more confused than Michael looked. Jake looked shocked.

“Okay, fuck that, I don’t believe you. I’m gonna get your workout secrets one day,” he said, sounding like a villain in a cartoon. Jeremy bit his lip to keep from laughing. Jake spun to face him and Michael- oh. When had Michael moved next to him? “How are you guys feeling?” He fidgeted.

“I’m fine, I guess.” Michael suddenly started shushing him and Jeremy looked at him, confused.

“Hi fine,” Jake began grinning, and Jeremy felt his stomach drop. _Oh no. Not again._ “I’m Jake.” He just found himself staring into the distance, questioning life while the SQUIP cackled in his head. Why had he wanted to be popular again? Why was he friends with these people. He regretted the multiple events in his life that lead him to this point. He thought he’d left dad jokes behind when his dad fell into a depressive slump post-divorce. Apparently not.

 

“God _dammit_ , Jacob Roger Dillinger!” Chloe screeched before stomping out of the store, holding her cup of froyo. Everyone followed in suit, also stomping at Jake’s horrid joke until the only people left were Brooke, Michael, Jake, and himself. He blinked twice.

“Jeremy, you look like you’ve been hit over the head with a frying pan. You alright, homeslice?” Jake asked, and Jeremy started responding before he caught himself.

 

“Yeah, I’m- nope. Not falling for that again. You’re worse than Michael sometimes,” he said, and he heard Michael give an offend gasp to his right.

“I take offense to that. My jokes are _way_ better!” he argued, but Brooke just sighed.

“Uh huh. Sure, sweetie,” she consoled, looping her arm in Michael’s as she started pulling him out of the shop, Jake just a bit ahead of them. “The last joke you made was about Jeremy hitting on you,” she offered plainly, and Jeremy just about choked on air at that. The SQUIP laughed harder.

[ _You know, with how pathetic you are, I was kind of sad I’d have to spend the rest of eternity in your head, but if that’s what I get to hear all the time, it might be alright as long as you don’t ruin everything as always!_ ] He shivered and followed, willing the blush away as he followed everyone else.

He just hoped he could survive high school now.

 

Oh god. He wasn’t sure he could do it.

He’d spent three weeks with the stupid tictac in his head being a manipulative, abusive ass while Michael and Brooke were stupidly romantic and adorable and perfect together all the time and it was killing Jeremy. God, he wanted so badly to be happy for Michael, but all he felt was this pulsing jealousy he shoved down with too many forced smiles and prolonged silences. And that was only _in class_! He shared 4 classes with Michael, two of which he also shared with Brooke. Creative Writing and Psychology were hell because of it, but he shoved that down. Forced smiles. Chloe gave him a lot of pity looks. He did the same to her. He was in her head long enough to know.

Michael and him slowly healed though, alone. They would sit and talk about things, play video games every Friday in Michael’s basement. He liked when Michael started to feel okay enough to let him curl into his side, relishing in the realness of it all, of actually seeing and feeling Michael’s presence. When silences stopped being awkward, when he could ignore the glitching voice of Hatsune Miku in his head to just listen to music, Michael, and ambient noise, when life got back to normal, it started being ok. He died a little inside every time he saw Brooke and Michael being close, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. So he just let it happen. He forced smiles and bit the chewy necklace Michael insisted he get when he noticed Jeremy’s bruised knuckles after days of anxious biting a lot. And despite the jealousy and fear he’d fuck up again and the overhanging question of the SQUIP’s influence, he was starting to think everything was going to be ok as he leaned into Michael’s side in his basement on a Friday night.

Even though Michael and Brooke being together hurt more than he could explain, he just smiled and took what he could. Michael was happy, and he was starting to be happy too.

He was pretty sure everything was going to be alright, even if he couldn’t survive the school year. Things seemed like they would work out alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thats it for now. thats how it ends for now.  
> uhm sorry they didnt get together but jeremy will pine silently for a bit ok bc me and rach love pining jer
> 
> but we hope this is a semi-satisfying conclusion!!!! rach is about to post another side fic too!!! plus, eli's about to write a fic involve a constellation ive mentioned before in another fic ;0c
> 
> but thank you all so much for reading and sticking with us for this!!!! it's been a long journey!!!!! and we've loved it!!!!! we hope you enjoy the coming side fics!!!!!! -eli
> 
> Honestly guys thank you so much for reading this... It started as just me writing it and then evolved into this and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Just...thanks for everything, considering how reluctant I was to even write a fanfic, this response is honestly overwhelming. Hopefully y'all will enjoy our sidefics, and I don't regret any and all pain we put you through!! Love you all!!! <3 <3 -Rachel

**Author's Note:**

> next chapter next Wednesday!!!!
> 
> or earlier if rachel or I get too tired of waiting lol  
> both of us live for comments and kudos!!!
> 
> if u wanna yell headcanons or general love at us, find rachel at her [tumblr](https://cuddlehoe.tumblr.com/) and eli at [his](https://eli-the-aro.tumblr.com/)!!!!!


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